Urban residents who live in numerous cultural venues have plans to visit museums on weekends. In addition to cultivating their sentiments and improving their artistic cultivation, such actions are also beneficial to their health. In 2018, the French Doctors Association of Canada, in cooperation with the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, launched a cross-border project to issue a prescription for "visiting museums". The purpose of issuing such a prescription is to promote the rehabilitation, health and happiness of patients with chronic diseases (hypertension, diabetes), neurological diseases, cognitive dysfunction or mental problems. Whether this prescription can be issued is up to the doctor's discretion. Over the past five years, this project has enabled thousands of patients to receive prescriptions from doctors and be able to visit museums alone or with companions. Its effectiveness has not only gained media attention recently, but also gained increasing popularity among the public. Many people say that "visiting museums has strong stress resistance properties and incredible benefits." The World Health Organization (WHO) advocated participating in art activities as a strategy for managing chronic diseases as early as 2015. In 2019, the WHO released a comprehensive report compiling evidence on the role of art and cultural activities in promoting health and happiness. The author of this report conducted precise and rigorous observations of the psychological, physiological, and behavioral responses caused by certain specific components of artistic activities (aesthetic participation, sensory stimulation, physical activity). The author believes that visiting museums is a so-called receptive art activity, where visitors themselves do not need to create artworks. However, the advantage of this activity is that it can enhance health. The question is, can one benefit from visiting artworks alone? In other words, do simple facts that come into contact with art have a specific effect? Behavioral scientists from University College London selected 6710 adults aged 50 and above from the UK Longitudinal Aging Study and monitored their long-term health indicators. They were asked to report their habits in cultural and artistic activities within 14 years. After considering a range of economic, health, and social factors, the analysis results showed that regular visits (every 2-3 months or more) to cultural venues (cinemas, opera houses, museums, galleries) can reduce their risk of developing dementia and depression by 50%, the risk of developing frailty syndrome (age-related decline in health status and loss of independent living ability) by 40%, and the risk of death by 31%. This protective effect can be largely explained by the fact that viewing artworks can enhance cognitive function, improve mental health levels, and increase physical activity. Moreover, these results are not related to restricted physical mobility, wealth status, or retirement. Does this mean that exposure to art can delay healthy aging? There is a possibility, but it still needs to be confirmed. For this, queue studies and randomized controlled trials are needed. Psychologists at the University of Auckland in New Zealand reviewed scientific literature on the physiological responses of viewing art and their impact on self-reported stress. Some studies have shown that viewing art can lower blood pressure, heart rate, and the amount of cortisol secreted in saliva. These changes indicate a decrease in human alertness,
Edit：GuoGuo Responsible editor：FangZhiYou
Source：people.cn
Special statement: if the pictures and texts reproduced or quoted on this site infringe your legitimate rights and interests, please contact this site, and this site will correct and delete them in time. For copyright issues and website cooperation, please contact through outlook new era email：lwxsd@liaowanghn.com
Recommended Reading Change it 
Home
