The Mental Health Benefits of Art

Justin Fancourt • 24 June 2020

Creating art relieves stress, encourages creative thinking, increases brain plasticity, and imparts other mental health benefits. And anyone can do art.

Creating art relieves stress, encourages creative thinking, increases brain plasticity, and imparts other mental health benefits. And anyone can do art.
There are a lot of misconceptions floating around about art.

Some think you have to be creating paintings or sculptures to be considered a real artist.

Others believe that you are either born with talent — or not.

Many who don’t consider themselves to be artistic feel that there is no point in creating art since they won’t be satisfied with the results.

Another myth is that you have to work with an art therapist to get any therapeutic benefit from doing art.

But we are all born with an innate desire to express ourselves and art encompasses a wider range of activities than you might imagine.

Here are some of the best ways in which creative expression can benefit mental health — making you a happier, healthier person.

How Creating Art Relieves Stress

Activities like painting, sculpting, drawing, and photography are relaxing and rewarding hobbies that can lower your stress level and leave you feeling mentally clear and calm.

Creating art provides a distraction, giving your brain a break from your usual thoughts.

The average person has roughtly 60,000 thoughts per day and 90% of them are exactly the same day in, day out! (1)

When you get totally immersed in a creative endeavor, you may find yourself in what’s known as “the zone” or a state of “flow.”

This meditative-like state focuses your mind and temporarily pushes aside all your worries.

Leonardo da Vinci proclaimed that “Painting embraces all the ten functions of the eye; that is to say, darkness, light, body and color, shape and location, distance and closeness, motion and rest.”

Creating art trains you to concentrate on details and pay more attention to your environment.

In this way, it acts like meditation.

A popular art trend for stress relief is adult coloring books.

This idea was first popularized in France, a country that’s number one in per capita consumption of antidepressants, tranquilizers, and sleeping pills. (2)

Some coloring books are created with stress relief in mind and have become an acceptable adult form of artistic expression.

Many art therapists are supportive of the movement and would like to see coloring become a gateway to reach those who could benefit from art therapy. (3)

So far, this has worked to gently transition veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) into art therapy. (4)

Art Encourages Creative Thinking

Dr. Lawrence Katz is an internationally recognized pioneer in neuron regeneration research and author of Keep Your Brain Alive: 83 Neurobic Exercises to Help Prevent Memory Loss and Increase Mental Fitness.


He found that mental decline was due mainly to the loss of communication between brain cells, not from the death of brain cells themselves. (5)


Dr. Katz coined the phrase “neurobics” to describe brain exercises that use your senses in new and novel ways, and creating art certainly fits this definition.


Art enhances problem-solving skills. (6)


Unlike math, there is no one correct answer in art.


Art encourages creative thinking and lets you come up with your own unique solutions.


Out-of-the-box thinking also stimulates your brain to grow new neurons.


Related on Be Brain Fit —

How To Be More Creative: 10 Proven Techniques


Contrary to popular belief, creative thinking does not mean using the right side of your brain.


Creativity involves getting both hemispheres of your brain to communicate with each other. (7)


The concept of left-brain, right-brain dominance never had a strong foundation in science in the first place, and now this theory has been totally debunked.


It also promotes the stereotype that you can’t be both analytical and creative, which is obviously not true.


Some of the greatest minds of all time, including Leonardo da Vinci and Albert Einstein, were simultaneously analytical and creative.


The most complicated functions that humans perform, such as thinking creatively, learning a language, or playing or listening to music, all require whole-brain thinking. (8, 9)

Art Boosts Self-Esteem, Provides a Sense of Accomplishment

You may stick your kids’ artwork on the refrigerator door to boost their self-esteem.


Hanging your latest work of art on the wall can instill the same feeling in you.


Creating art increases the feel-good neurotransmitter dopamine.


Dopamine has been called the “motivation molecule.”


It boosts drive, focus, and concentration.


It enables you to plan ahead and resist impulses so that you can achieve your goals.


It gives you that “I did it!” lift when you accomplish what you set out to do.


Dopamine stimulates the creation of new neurons and prepares your brain for learning. (10)


You don’t have to produce fine art to reap the benefits of creating.


Crafting hobbies of all kinds — knitting, quilting, sewing, drawing, photography, woodworking, gardening, and do-it-yourself home repair — increase dopamine, ward off depression, and protect the brain from aging. (11)

How Art Affects the Brain: Increased Connectivity and Plasticity

Every time you engage in a new or complex activity, your brain creates new connections between brain cells.

Your brain’s ability to grow connections and change throughout your lifetime is called brain plasticity, or neuroplasticity.

Creating art stimulates communication between various parts of the brain.

In this way, creating art has been proven to increase psychological and emotional resilience and resistance to stress. (12)

It’s thought that intelligence depends more on the number of brain connections than the size of your brain. (13)

How Art Makes Children Better Students for Life

Educators and parents alike have long suspected that music and arts programs make better students.

Now, with neuroimaging, science can finally back this up.

Children with musical training perform better in math, language, and reading. (14, 15)

Early music lessons enhance brain plasticity and connectivity. (16, 17)

There’s evidence that the brain-enhancing benefits of music lessons received during childhood can follow through adulthood and last a lifetime. (18)

The benefits of visual art programs are equally impressive.

Art lessons increase brain plasticity, fluid intelligence, IQ, and attention.

They improve overall behav­ior and reduce impulsiveness. (19)

Unfortunately, educational budget cuts have slashed music and arts programs across the US in recent years.

Considering the lifelong benefits of art training, this is a short-sighted policy.

Viewing Art Increases Empathy, Tolerance, and Feelings of Love

A study of over 10,000 students found that a one-hour trip to an art museum changed the way they thought and felt.

Students who visited a museum not only showed increased critical thinking skills, they also exhibited greater empathy regarding how people lived in the past and expressed greater tolerance towards people different than themselves. (20)

Professor Semir Zeki, a neurobiologist at the University College London, discovered that simply the act of viewing art gives pleasure, much like falling in love.

Brain scans revealed that looking at works of art triggers a surge of dopamine in the same area of the brain that registers romantic love. (21)

For most of us, it’s not possible to visit an art museum every day, but you can get your daily dose of culture with the Daily Art app.

This app shares an interesting background story on one painting masterpiece each day.

Creating Art Improves Quality of Life for Dementia Patients

Art enhances cognitive abilities and memory, even for people with serious brain disorders.

Dementia is mainly thought of as a memory loss problem, but patients also experience other symptoms such as agitation, aggression, anxiety, depression, and insomnia.

Drug treatment for dementia symptoms is generally not very successful.

When dementia patients are encouraged to create visual art, they derive obvious pleasure from it.

It improves their social behavior and self-esteem, and reduces psychiatric symptoms. (22)

Dr. Arnold Bresky is a physician who has created a program called the “Brain Tune Up” that utilizes art therapy for Alzheimer’s and dementia patients. (23)

He reports that 70% of his patients experience improvements in memory when they draw or paint.

He believes that these activities increase connectivity between the right and left hemispheres of the brain and help to grow new brain cells.

Art Eases the Burden of Chronic Health Conditions

Millions of people deal with chronic health conditions and the stress, anxiety, and depression that accompany them.

In The Connection Between Art, Healing, and Public Health: A Review of Current Literature, researchers analyzed and reported on the findings of over 100 studies done on the benefits of art on physical and psychological health.

They found that music and visual arts affected patients in these positive ways:

Art let patients forget about their illness for a while, allowing them to focus on positive life experiences.
Creating art enabled them to maintain the identity of who they were before they got sick.
Creative pursuits gave them a sense of achievement.
The creation process helped patients express their feelings.
Art reduced stress by lowering levels of the stress hormone cortisol.
Dr. John Graham-Pole is a retired pediatric oncologist who wrote poetry to process some of the grim realities he faced working at a hospital. (24)

He developed informal art workshops to help both patients and staff cope better with whatever was happening to them through writing and painting.

He believes that “Art is a social determinant of our health. It doesn’t cure a particular disease, but benefits whatever ails you.”

Art Eases the Burden of Chronic Health Conditions

Albert Einstein said that “Creativity is intelligence having fun.”

If it’s been a long time since you had fun expressing yourself creatively, you might not know how to begin.

If that’s the case, check out this list of 100 Art Therapy Exercises.

You don’t have to have any particular artistic skills to get started.

Some of these exercises are craft-like, such as making a dreamcatcher.

If you are more into “cut and paste” than drawing or painting, there are several ideas for creating collages.

For those who are more analytical, you can start by creating a mind map to visualize your thoughts or feelings.

If you don’t want to share what you are doing with others, use sand, chalk, or water to create temporary art.

Buddhists create intricate sand mandalas, circular designs with concentric shapes, that are intentionally swept or washed away upon completion.

These creations are a meditation on life’s impermanence.

Keep in mind as you create that using art therapeutically is about the journey — not about the end product.

Creating Art vs Art Therapy

Anyone can benefit from creating art, but sometimes it’s best to seek professional help.

Art therapists are health care professionals with backgrounds in both art and psychology or counseling.

They usually have a masters degree and must complete 1,000 supervised hours working with clients.

Art therapy can be used to improve physical, mental, and emotional well-being.

You should consider art therapy if you are experiencing any of these situations: (25)

high-stress occupation
mental health disorder
learning disability
brain injury
chronic illness
Art therapy is also recommended for children or teens who are having personal problems or trouble in school.

Art used as therapy has successfully helped people with anxiety, depression, addictions, PTSD, chronic pain, cancer, high blood pressure, bipolar disorder, dementia and Alzheimer’s, and other serious physical and mental health conditions.

Summary

  • Creating art can be beneficial throughout all stages of life.
  • It can help children be better students and improve quality of life for seniors.
  • It relieves burdensome stress, encourages creative thinking, boosts self-esteem, and provides a sense of accomplishment.
  • It can make you an all-around better, happier person.
  • It can even change the structure and function of your brain.
  • There is no need to feel intimidated about doing art since it’s the process of creating art that provides the benefits, not the quality of the results.

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CLERO - College of Lived Experience Recovery Organisations

31 July 2022
The College of Lived Experience Recovery Organisations (CLERO) has emerged in the course of the last year as a powerful force for building an evidence base for recovery community organisation and for generating a positive radius of trust and hope. This will grow into a set of quality standards and a network of recovery organisations committed to evidencing what they do and championing innovation that is embedded in a set of clearly articulated values including transparency, openness and trust. The CLERO has been boosted by support and engagement from Dame Carol Black who is looking to the group for guidance around the role of recovery and organisations and by a small grant from the Big Lottery to develop our work. One of the key aspects of this is the support and training of a group of lived experience peers in the principles of research. This is not an abstracted academic course but training and development geared towards the first engagement phase of work done with LEROs across the UK. We are delighted to become a part of this exciting and challenging project to connect, support and encourage the development of Lived Experience Recovery Organisations around the UK as a Member. Want to be a part of CLERO too? Become a member here What are the Underlying Principles of a LERO? Principle 1: Informed by a primary relationship with their community and who act in response to the needs and aspirations of their community, recognising and employing the assets and competencies that already exist Principle 2: Everything done in and by a LERO is driven through co-production Principle 3: All activities will be informed by a rights-based approach, including the right to health The History of CLERO Starting in May 2020, a group of 10 champions of recovery from different corners of the recovery ecosystem began to meet on a weekly basis to share their thoughts and support each other and an agenda quickly developed consisting of five objectives: To expand the scope beyond a narrow definition of recovery to include all of those damaged by exclusion and marginalisation – and so the term LERO (Lived Experience Recovery Organisation) was born To provide a platform for sharing and disseminating the Innovations that are central to recovery oriented organisations To agree on a core set of Values for Lived Experience Recovery Organisations To create an Evidence-Base for recovery organisations to provide credibility and professionalism To develop a set of Standards for LEROs as a framework for growth and development rather than a cage It is no coincidence that these five objectives connect to form another acronym, LIVES. The aim of all LEROs is to support individuals, families, and communities to lead positive and meaningful lives that contribute to the wellbeing of their communities. The Clero Mission The aim is to develop a Recovery Strategy that is signed up to by crucial leadership figures and organisations for (addiction) recovery in the UK. The focus will be on Lived Experience Recovery Organisations (LEROs), that has the idea of active citizenship at its core. We want to build coherence, trust, credibility and consensus for recovery groups and communities based on a model that promotes an evidence-based approach predicated on Lived Experience. What are the Four Objectives of Clero? 1: To identify and champion innovation in LEROs and provide a supporting evidence base 2: To provide connections and support for recovery leadership 3: To champion good practice in LEROs and to develop standards 4: To act as a voice for LEROs and a hub of evidence and knowledge The CLERO Members CLERO is aiming to create a local, regional and national voice that can support quality standards, evidence good care in formal treatment settings and contribute to policies and decisions relating to service provision. We want to help the development and sustainability of other Lived Experience Recovery Organisations. These are the current tiers of membership: CLERO connectors are (the group that will provide strategic oversight and make the connections that will enable voices to be heard on all levels) CLERO members are (the core group that will be the voice of the LEROs across the UK and help shape our strategic direction) CLERO supporters / friends are (supporters and champions of LEROs, that will help build bridges and relationships to enable change)
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