How important are the arts for our health?
Engaging in the arts can increase happiness, reduce stress, and improve mental and physical health.
In her book, Art Cure, Professor Daisy Fancourt reveals the life changing power of the arts.
Art Cure draws on decades of research to demonstrate how everyday creative activities, from choirs to crafts, can improve our health.
Participating in the arts can:
- Improve wellbeing
- Increase life satisfaction
- Reduce stress
Over time, it can also:
- Reduce risk of depressive symptoms
- Support cardiovascular, respiratory and immune health
"We’re used to thinking about health in terms of pillars like physical activity, diet and sleep."
"Arts engagement deserves to be considered alongside those, because the evidence is increasingly showing that it can be just as important for a wide range of mental and physical health outcomes."
Professor Daisy Fancourt
The evidence highlighted in Art Cure is part of a 200‑year‑long story of UCL research expanding our understanding of health and wellbeing.
As we mark UCL’s bicentenary, we’re highlighting work across the Faculty of Population Health Sciences that is reshaping how we think about health, and improving lives in the process.
Be part of the work shaping fairer, healthier societies
UCL research highlights how health is shaped not just by biology, but by our environments, communities and access to opportunity.
In our Social Epidemiology MSc, you’ll explore how social factors influence health and wellbeing, develop skills in study design and statistical analysis, and learn to translate research into policies and interventions that reduce health inequalities.
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