"Just One Visit Made Me Three Years Younger... An Unexpected Hobby That Slows Aging"

Positive Effects on Mental Health: Strengthening Social Relationships and Improving Lifestyle Habits
Cultural Activities Influence Biological Age... Further Verification Needed

A new study has found that regularly engaging in cultural activities such as visiting movie theaters, art museums, and performance venues may help slow down biological aging. In particular, people who enjoyed cultural and artistic activities on a regular basis had an average biological age about three years younger than those who participated less frequently.

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Analysis of 1,899 adults aged 50 and older: "The more you enjoy cultural activities, the lower your biological age"

On July 20, local time, the New York Post reported—citing a study by researchers at Tokyo Institute of Science published in the international journal Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health—that cultural and artistic activities can positively influence the slowing of biological aging.

The researchers analyzed data from 1,899 adults aged 50 and older who participated in the UK’s long-term aging study, the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. They calculated the physiological age of the participants using a range of health indicators such as blood pressure, cholesterol, body mass index (BMI), grip strength, and walking speed, and then compared these with the frequency of participation in cultural and artistic activities.

The analysis showed that people who engaged in cultural and artistic activities—such as attending movie theaters, museums, art galleries, concerts, plays, and operas—at least once every few months had an average biological age of 66.9 years. In contrast, those with lower participation frequency had an average biological age of 69.9 years, about three years higher.

Biological age, unlike actual or “chronological age,” is an indicator influenced not only by genetic factors but also by sleep, stress, eating habits, lifestyle, and environment.

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Strengthening social relationships and improving lifestyle... Diverse cultural activities recommended

The researchers analyzed that involvement in cultural and artistic activities may have slowed the aging process by strengthening social relationships, helping to establish healthy lifestyle habits, and having a positive effect on mental health. In particular, social interaction and human relationships are known to play an important role in living a long and healthy life.

However, the researchers noted that it is difficult to definitively conclude from this study alone that involvement in cultural and artistic activities directly slows biological aging, since it is also possible that inherently healthier individuals tend to participate more frequently in such activities.

Nevertheless, similar findings have been confirmed in previous research. In a study of about 3,500 British adults, those who visited art museums or enjoyed creative hobbies such as singing, dancing, drawing, or painting at least once a week experienced an aging rate about 4% slower than those who did not. Those who participated about once a month also had an aging rate about 3% slower.

The research team explained that enjoying a variety of cultural and artistic activities, rather than repeating a single hobby, may be more beneficial for healthy aging.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.