Study: Painting, Singing, or Museum Trips Slow Down Biological Aging by Years

A new study from University College London (UCL) has found that regularly engaging in arts and culture—whether by painting, singing, visiting a museum, or attending a concert—can actually slow down the rate at which your body ages. This is the first research to link both active participation in arts (like making music or drawing) and passive attendance (like viewing an exhibition) directly to a slower pace of biological aging, which is the gradual breakdown of your cells and tissues over time [147107].

Separate research from Penn State University supports this, showing that simple physical movements—like contracting your stomach muscles while walking—help flush waste out of your brain by pushing cerebrospinal fluid through it [146116]. Seventeen fitness experts also agree that picking just one key movement, from planks to face pulls, can boost longevity and overall wellbeing if done correctly [135836].

But the new UCL findings add a powerful twist: you don’t have to run a marathon to slow aging. Creative engagement works on its own. In the past 20 years, scientists have built a growing body of evidence proving that the arts provide measurable health benefits—reducing depression, boosting immunity, and delaying aging—while you are simply having fun [43599].

Meanwhile, 75-year-old entertainer Charo has revealed her anti-aging method involves no drugs or supplements—only strict exercise, quitting sugar, and choosing to accept the passage of time instead of fighting it [145650].