The job I have is very unusual. I’m a research scientist, working in a university health faculty, who looks at the impact of the arts on our lives. In my daily world, the creativity of culture collides with the rigour of medicine. I’ve been lucky enough to work in hospitals and witness, first-hand, the uplifting impact that arts programmes can have during some of the darkest moments of people’s lives. The first pieces of art ever found, dated by archeologists to around 40,000 years ago, appear to have been produced directly for use in healing and fertility rituals. So, far from being new, the marriage of the arts and health has ancient roots.
Of course, even when something has a long history, scientists are trained to be cautious, but the data emerging from all over the world about the eect of the arts on our health is undeniable. For example, lullabies have been shown to help premature babies to gain weight. This might, on the surface, sound far-fetched. But, in fact, there are some intricate mechanisms at play. The relaxing eects of listening to music can help reduce stress in babies, including lowering levels of stress hormones, such as cortisol. The regular beats and calming repetitive patterns of lullabies can also slow down babies’ heart rates, so that they are less distressed in the alien environment of the intensive-care unit. This means that they can lie more calmly, expending fewer calories, and feed better, helping them to gain weight.
Another wonderful example of the use of the arts in health, is practising magic tricks. This can help children with one-sided paralysis (common in cerebral palsy) to improve the use of their hands. For these youngsters, intensive hand therapy is recommended, but it can be hard to engage them with repetitive exercises. So, the Magic Circle teamed up with clinicians in London to turn each exercise into a magic trick. Children with one-sided paralysis can now attend camps where they learn how to become young magicians. Not only is this programme just as eective as regular hand therapy, but it also has a transformative eect on the self-esteem of those who attend the lessons.