Consuming Arts and Culture Is Good for Health and Wellbeing, Research Finds

Most people are familiar with the buzz that attending a memorable play, film, concert or art exhibition can trigger.

But now it is official: consuming culture is good for your health and wellbeing – and generates £8bn a year worth of improvements in people’s quality of life and higher productivity.

That is the conclusion of the first major UK research to quantify the impact the arts and heritage can have on physical and mental health and the monetary value of the advantages they bring.

Going to an arts event or taking part in a cultural activity, even only occasionally such as every few months, confers an array of “significant” benefits that can include alleviating pain, frailty, depression and dependence on medication, the government-commissioned review has found.