Want to reduce depression, improve your immunity or delay ageing? Being creative can help with that.

Based on this Guardian article: “Art could save your life! Five creative ways to make 2026 happier, healthier and more hopeful” (Daisy Fancourt)

The article’s core claim is simple: creativity isn’t a luxury—it’s a legitimate health tool. We tend to default to the usual “new year, new me” routines (gym, diets, meditation), but the piece argues that engaging with the arts has a surprisingly wide evidence base for improving both mental and physical health.

What the evidence says (in plain terms)

Regular arts engagement is linked with reduced symptoms of anxiety, depression, and stress.
It can work preventatively too: people who regularly attend cultural events show a much lower risk of developing depression (even after accounting for lifestyle and demographics).
Arts activities stimulate reward/pleasure networks (dopamine), support emotional regulation, and meet core psychological needs like autonomy and mastery.
Over time, creativity can strengthen brain connectivity, build “cognitive reserve,” and is associated with slower cognitive decline and lower dementia risk.
It also affects the body: singing can train respiratory muscles, dance can improve blood pressure/glucose more than equivalent non-creative exercise, and arts engagement is linked to immune and inflammation benefits.

The author is also careful to say: the arts aren’t a magical cure-all. But overall, the takeaway is that creative habits can meaningfully improve your “healthspan,” not just your mood.

5 practical ways to use creativity

Find your creative pick-me-up. Use music and books intentionally to shift mood. Replace doomscrolling with a novel. Replace the alarm with a song you actually listen to. The point is “active” engagement—not background noise while you dissociate.
Choose a new creative hobby. Even 30–60 minutes once a week can show wellbeing improvements in about six weeks. Pick based on what you’re missing: control (drawing/writing/clay), mastery (crochet, ukulele), or community (classes/groups).
- How about trying one of my Creative courses or workshops?
Go to an exhibition—and actually look. Most people spend seconds per artwork. Meaningful engagement takes minutes: look, react, think, look again. Better to deeply experience a few pieces than rush through everything.
Use rhythm to enhance your workouts. Music syncs movement, breathing, and heart rate to the beat—and can make you go harder for longer while dulling fatigue signals. (The article even frames it as a “legal performance-enhancing drug.”)
Indulge in make-believe. Adults treat play as childish—wrong move. Imagination builds mental flexibility and resilience. Try a murder-mystery night, cosplay, festivals, or anything that lets you step into a different role/world.

If you did zero minutes of active arts engagement yesterday, you’re in the majority. The article’s push is to stop treating creativity as optional.

Small, consistent doses—chosen for enjoyment, not “self-improvement flex”—can stack up into real mental and physical benefits. My creative courses or workshops could help with that.