Visiting a museum or art gallery for just one hour a month could significantly improve people's physical and mental health, according to a new report which calls for cultural engagement to become as routine as exercise and healthy eating.
The research, commissioned by the charity Art Fund in partnership with University College London professor Daisy Fancourt, recommends that people spend at least 60 minutes with art in museums and galleries every month.
However, the survey of 2,000 UK adults found that 89% fail to meet this proposed target, equivalent to an estimated 49.5 million people.
The report, “The Recommended Dose of Art: A Prescription for Health and Wellbeing”, draws together scientific evidence suggesting that regular cultural engagement can reduce stress, improve cognitive health and potentially extend life expectancy.
Previous studies have shown that regular museum and gallery visits could nearly halve the risk of developing depression over the following decade. Other studies have linked cultural participation with reduced dementia risk and lower levels of loneliness.
Viewing original artworks in galleries was also associated with a 22% greater reduction in the stress hormone cortisol compared with viewing reproductions.
Fancourt, whose book Art Cure on the scientific benefits of art came out earlier this year, says regular engagement with art should be considered a health-promoting behaviour alongside exercise, a balanced diet and spending time outdoors.
“Guidelines like eating our 5-a-day of fruit and vegetables and getting our 10,000 steps have proven effective in helping us to prioritise other health-promoting behaviours in our busy lives,” she says in a statement. “Adding regular arts engagement to this list could be a simple and joyful way of investing further in our health and wellbeing.”
But the findings also raise questions about whether Britain's struggling museums have the resources to encourage more frequent visits. Jenny Waldman, the director of Art Fund, tells The Art Newspaper that the research strengthens the case for sustained public investment in museums, including protecting free admission at national institutions and supporting local and regional collections.
“We want to see sustained, long-term public investment across the museum sector, so that all museums have the resources to care for their collections and welcome the widest possible audiences,” she says.
Waldman acknowledged that removing admission charges alone would not overcome barriers to visiting museums, including accessibility and the resources available to institutions.
She says Art Fund's research among museum directors found that 36% of museums had reduced their opening hours because of insufficient funding and staffing.
“If we want museums to play a greater role in supporting public health, we must invest in the sector and give them the means to do so,” she adds.
Waldman also points to international developments, including Greece's introduction of arts prescribing into its national healthcare system and growing recognition of cultural organisations as public health assets. She also notes efforts closer to home: “Scotland's Chief Medical Officer, Sir Gregor Smith, recently published a report recognising arts organisations as important public health assets and calling for arts and culture to be embedded more widely in Scotland's approach to public health.”
