"Ever since our Paleolithic ancestors began painting caves, carving figurines, dancing and singing, engaging in the arts has been interwoven with health and healing. Look through the early writings of every major medical tradition around the world and you find the arts. What is much newer and rapidly accelerating over the past two decades is a blossoming scientific evidence-base identifying and quantifying exactly what the health benefits of the arts are."
"Randomised trials on the mental health benefits of the arts now number in triple figures, with regular singing, dancing, reading, crafts, and cultural pursuits shown to reduce symptoms of anxiety, depression and stress for people of all ages. Some studies suggest that combining creative arts therapies such as music therapy with antidepressants and counselling can nearly double the improvements in depressive symptoms compared with standard treatments alone."
Engagement in the arts has been linked to health and healing since Paleolithic times and appears across early medical traditions worldwide. Over the past two decades a growing scientific evidence base has emerged, including hundreds of randomized trials showing that regular singing, dancing, reading, crafts, and cultural participation reduce anxiety, depression and stress across all ages. Creative arts therapies such as music therapy, when combined with antidepressants and counselling, can almost double improvements in depressive symptoms compared with standard treatments. Regular attendance at theatre, live music, museums and cinemas is associated with roughly half the risk of developing depression, independent of socio-demographic factors, lifestyle and genetics.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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