Name: Art.<\/p>\n
Age: Art has been around for thousands of years. The drawings in Blombos Cave in South Africa, for example, are estimated to be about 73,000 years old. But this is less about how old and more about how often, and for how long.<\/p>\n
OK, how often, and for how long? Sixty minutes a month.<\/p>\n
Cave painting? No. Well, if you like, sure (though ask the owner and check for bears first). But this is about experiencing art.<\/p>\n
Like going to a gallery? Exactly. Or a museum.<\/p>\n
For an hour a month? Minimum.<\/p>\n
To make me more cultured and interesting? Maybe. But mainly because it\u2019s good for you.<\/p>\n
Who says? A study by the Art Fund charity<\/a>, and more specifically Daisy Fancourt, a professor of psychobiology and epidemiology at University College London, who wrote the foreword to the report, as well as the book Art Cure: The Science of How the Arts Transform Our Health<\/a>.<\/p>\n And what does Fancourt have to say? \u201cRegular engagement and meaningful encounters with art are now recognised as an important contributor to our health and wellbeing.\u201d<\/p>\n It makes art sound like your five fruit and veg a day, or 10,000 steps. It\u2019s meant to. It\u2019s being called RDA \u2013 recommended dose of art. Fancourt says of visiting museums and galleries: \u201cThe evidence suggests they should be viewed as health-promoting behaviours, alongside having a balanced diet, regular exercise and spending time outdoors.\u201d<\/p>\n OK, but one study, by a charity that exists to get people to go to galleries \u2026 Another study<\/a>, published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, working with data from 2,148 adults in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, found a 48% lower risk of depression for people going to museums, theatre and cinema once a month. You want more?<\/p>\n