"How can you keep your brain agile and young throughout your life, even as you get older? By spending time on creative pursuits as often as you can. That's the fascinating finding of a study by researchers from Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez in Chile and Trinity College in Ireland, among others. As the study's authors note, earlier studies have shown a connection between creative activities such as playing a musical instrument and improved brain health."
"Using EEG readings, they determined each participant's "brain age gap," the difference between their chronological age and the apparent age of the participant's brain. What they found was that creative people across all disciplines had younger brains than their noncreative peers. Dancers had some of the youngest brains compared with their actual ages. This isn't surprising since previous research has consistently shown that strenuous physical activity also slows brain aging."
More than 1,200 healthy control participants were compared with 1,467 people who spent time in creative pursuits, including dancers, musicians, visual artists, and strategy-based gamers. EEG readings were used to compute each participant's 'brain age gap,' the difference between chronological age and apparent brain age. Creative participants across disciplines exhibited younger brains than noncreative peers. Dancers showed some of the youngest brain ages, combining strenuous physical activity with creativity. Strategic gamers showed the smallest brain age gap, while higher expertise in creative domains correlated with greater brain benefits. Brain connections that normally deteriorate with aging were stronger in creative individuals.
Read at Fast Company
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