Humans have been creating art since before the beginning of recorded history. Cave paintings as far back as 30000 years have been found, testament to our need to create and document our presence on this planet. It’s considered by many as the one of the true, defining aspects of our species, and it’s something that we’ve been perfecting for thousands of years.
There are a number of different health benefits to both looking at and creating art, but here we will focus entirely on the benefits of the creation side of art. For those artists that have ever wondered why their art calms them down or betters their day, these are the reasons as to why.
Boosts Self Esteem
Self-esteem issues are a problem for millions of people around the world, often requiring years of therapy to work past. Many of these issues stem from abuse that the person suffered when they were young, and it can lead to serious depression and other mental health problems.
One way of appeasing these issues is by creating something that the person can be proud of and helps to boost their overall self-esteem. This can be a powerful tool for a parent that has a child who suffers from self-esteem issues – possibly from bullying from school – where hanging the art that they have created can be good for their confidence and self-esteem.
Art Relieves Stress
One of the problems that people with anxiety face is that they are unable to switch off their own brains by themselves, and it can quickly become overwhelming. A great way of managing anxiety and the stresses that follow is by being distracted, and there are few better ways of going about this than by creating art.
Art, whether it’s painting, sculpting, searching for the best bonuses or drawing, requires plenty of concentration, and it means having to put aside anxious thoughts and focus on a single project. Stress is accumulative, and it can become unmanageable in a short space of time, which means that creating art as frequently as possible can extremely beneficial to anyone that suffers from mental health problems.
Art and Brain Activity
The brain is an organ that requires constant, new stimulation in order to retain its overall health, and the only way to do this is by subjecting to new and creative endeavour. Not many are better than art, which allows the brain to continually create new connections between the neurons.
Coupled with a healthy diet, including blueberries and dark chocolate, a phenomenon known as neurogenesis can occur, where the brain is able to create entirely new neurons and add them to the network of existing neurons. This can lead to better memory, better concentration, and lower levels of depression and anxiety. Our brains are extremely complex and can easily fall prey to atrophy, where the neurons slowly degrade from not enough usage.