Daily participation in the arts is as important to health as getting five-a-day or 10,000 steps, one of Britain\u2019s most influential scientists has said.<\/p>\n
Prof Daisy Fancourt, of University College London, recently became the first ever associate scientist for the Royal Albert Hall, and is determined to prove that the arts are vital for well-being.<\/p>\n
She recently published a paper showing that reading, listening to music or visiting a gallery or museum may slow the pace of ageing<\/a>, but the effects of art engagement are vast, ranging from boosting mental health to lowering blood pressure.<\/p>\n \u201cThe message is that we need do something artistic or creative every day, even it\u2019s only for a few minutes,\u201d she told The Telegraph.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we regularly engage in the arts it\u2019s actually a low-intensity psychological therapy, it increases neurotransmitters like dopamine that are involved in happiness, and reduces stress hormones like cortisol.<\/p>\n \u201cWhilst we treat them like a luxury, my research over the last 15 years has just been consistently showing me that they are much more than that \u2013 it\u2019s a human necessity.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve seen the effects of big campaigns like your five-a-day of fruit and veg and get your 30 minutes of activity and your 10,000 steps, but we\u2019ve not had those same conversations about art.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s not been the same idea that actually 15 or 20 minutes a day of doing something creative and artistic has benefits.\u201d<\/p>\n Royal Albert Hall\u2019s roots in science and arts<\/p>\n The Royal Albert Hall has teamed up with Prof Fancourt because it is keen to get back to its roots of promoting science as well as the arts.<\/p>\n It was originally intended to be called the Central Hall of Arts and Science, but the name was changed by Queen Victoria in memory of her husband, Prince Albert, who died six years before its completion.<\/p>\n Its full name is still the Royal Albert Hall of Arts and Science, and in the early years it hosted the first ever sci-fi convention, the Vril-Ya Bazaar and Fete, celebrating Edward Bulwer-Lytton\u2019s novel The Coming Race.<\/p>\n The event introduced Londoners to Bovril, which was named after the Vril-ya in the novel, a subterranean race who draw life-giving energy from a substance called Vril.<\/p>\n