What Art Actually Does to Your Brain (And How to Start) | Dr. Arif Khan

Summary

Creating art may affect stress, reward, mood, resilience, and memory. The studies described suggest that making art can have benefits beyond simply viewing it, though several findings are preliminary and do not prove cause and effect.

Findings and scientific concepts

• Art-making and stress: In a 2016 Drexel University study, 39 adults spent 45 minutes using art materials without specific instructions. Salivary cortisol, a stress hormone, decreased in about three-quarters of participants. Artistic experience did not appear to affect the result. The study had no control group, so it cannot establish that art caused the decrease.
• Creating versus viewing art: A small German study followed 28 recently retired adults aged 62–70 for 10 weeks. Those who took weekly painting and drawing classes showed stronger brain connectivity involving the posterior cingulate cortex and higher psychological resilience. Participants who attended museum-based art appreciation sessions showed no reported changes. The result is suggestive, not conclusive.
• Reward and enjoyment: In a 2017 preliminary Drexel study, 26 people did brief coloring, mandala-making, doodling, and free-drawing activities. All increased blood flow in the prefrontal cortex compared with resting. Artists and non-artists responded similarly, suggesting that the activity itself may feel rewarding, regardless of skill or outcome.
• Anhedonia and depression: Anhedonia is the loss of pleasure in activities once enjoyed, a common feature of depression. The video suggests that activities which can feel rewarding regardless of the result may be worth considering, but not as a substitute for clinical care.
• Dance and depression: A 2024 BMJ analysis of 218 trials involving more than 14,000 people found benefits for depression from walking or jogging, yoga, strength training, and dance. Dance showed the largest effect, but that result came from only five studies, mostly involving young women. The authors’ confidence in the evidence was low or very low, so the finding is promising rather than definitive.
• Learning challenging skills and memory: In a Texas study, 221 adults aged 60–90 spent about 15 hours a week for three months on different activities. Groups learning demanding skills, such as digital photography or computerized quilting, improved their memory; groups doing simple activities at home or social activities did not.
• Creativity and next-day well-being: Researchers followed 658 young adults in New Zealand and the United States for 13 days. On days participants reported more creative activity than usual, they also reported greater energy and enthusiasm, flourishing, and purpose the next day. Because the findings were self-reported, they do not prove that creativity caused the change.
• Art alongside treatment: A 2019 WHO review of more than 3,000 studies concluded that art can help prevent mental illness and support people living with it. The video emphasizes using art alongside, not instead of, treatment. It advises consulting a doctor if anxiety or low mood interferes with daily life.

Six practical suggestions

1. Make something rather than only observing art.
2. Try a new, challenging skill once a familiar activity becomes easy.
3. Start small: Even a few minutes may be a useful beginning.
4. Don’t worry about talent or prior experience.
5. Consider a group, such as a class or choir, if it is difficult to start alone.
6. Use art as a complement to treatment for anxiety or depression, not a replacement.

Researchers and sources featured

• Dr. Arif Khan, presenter and pediatric neurologist.
• Drexel University researchers, including the team behind the 2016 cortisol study and a 2017 preliminary study of blood flow during art-making. Individual researchers are not named in the subtitles.
• A German research team studying art-making and art appreciation among recently retired adults; individuals are not named.
• BMJ, publisher of the 2024 analysis of exercise trials for depression.
• Texas researchers studying learning activities and memory in older adults; individuals are not named.
• Researchers from New Zealand and the United States who studied creative activity and next-day well-being; individuals are not named.
• World Health Organization (WHO), source of the 2019 review of arts and health.