Another reason to catch a show now and then |
Nights at the theater or afternoons in a museum may show up in the body’s physical markers of aging. A new study found that adults who enjoyed a cultural outing every few months were physiologically younger than their peers who stayed in, even after accounting for income and chronic illness.
The study, published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, followed nearly 1,900 adults ages 50 and over. Alongside a questionnaire on how often they went to films, museums, concerts, plays, or the opera, researchers measured 10 physiological markers, including blood pressure, LDL cholesterol, BMI, and walking speed. Each one-point increase in cultural engagement is linked to a reduction in physiological age of about 31 days.
By comparing each person against themselves over time, the researchers stripped out factors like genetics and personality, which would usually cancel out links of this kind.
“We know that cognitive stimulation and social engagement lead to better physiologic aging, so this makes sense that it would be protective for these adults as they age,” said Anna Chodos, MD, a geriatrician at the University of California, San Francisco.
However, causation may run both ways. If you are already aging well, you may find it easier to get out to a gallery. But if you needed an excuse to see that show, this research provides a good one.
To learn more about this research, jump to “Slowing aging: Could going to theaters, museums keep the body younger?”
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