Studies Suggest There's An Art to Getting Older

Leading the study was psychiatrist Gene Cohen, director of George Washington University's Center on Aging, Health & Humanities, who has studied creativity and aging for 30 years. In 2002, he and other researchers recruited 300 people, ages 65 to 103. Half were involved with arts programs including singing, creative writing, poetry, painting or jewelry making; half were not.

After two years, those in the arts group reported better overall physical health and fewer doctor visits than the others. They also reported fewer falls and better scores on depression and loneliness scales. Medication use increased with age in both groups, but the arts group went from using an average 6.1 drugs to seven drugs, while the control group went from using 5.7 drugs to 8.3. Cohen noted that arts programs also had a positive impact on maintaining elders' independence and appeared to reduce "risk factors that drive the need for long-term care."

How could drumming or collage-making translate into better health?

Neuroscientists unaffiliated with Cohen's study are exploring evidence that challenging mental activity such as artistic expression stimulates the growth of new brain cells in the cerebral cortex. Even as we age, said Roberto Cabeza, an associate professor of psychology and neuroscience at Duke University, the creation of these new neuron networks continues.

Cohen theorizes that arts participants have a heightened sense of control and social engagement, both of which may boost the immune system. "Art," he says, "is accessible to all communities, and it's an activity that can be sustained."

Bill Hamilton, 85, of Goodwin House Alexandria was among the participants in Cohen's study, along with other members of his retirement community's chorale. "We're the laboratory animals," he joked.

Hamilton had enjoyed group singing in high school but hadn't sung publicly in more than 40 years when, in 2001, he joined the new musical group. Singing, he said, has been "a pleasure and a rediscovery." Director Jeanne Kelly, who leads five senior choruses, said the groups give members "something to look forward to, something to excel in, something to be in command of."

Sometimes arts participation can be powerful therapy. Susan Perlstein, the founder of the National Center for Creative Aging and New York's nonprofit Elders Share the Arts, recalls a Holocaust survivor who sat watching her peers perform theater for a year before she told them how she escaped death more than 60 years earlier. The group turned her story into a play and made her the star.

"She said to the group . . . she felt for the first time she could feel at home," Perlstein said. "This process of being able to share your stories and transform them into art is actually a deeply healing process. She went from a depressed, sick older person to a lively young person. It was phenomenal to watch this change."

Other research suggests health benefits for older people involved with the arts:

¿ A study published online in December by Columbia University's Research Center for Arts and Culture found that artists older than 65 had high levels of personal growth, autonomy and independence, all indicators of "successful aging." Parts of the study have been submitted for publication in peer-reviewed journals.