When it comes to healthy aging, we often hear the same advice from experts: eat well, exercise, and stay socially active.
But can flexing our creative muscles also help us thrive as we age?
The answer is yes.
Our later years are often marked by major transitions, such as retirement, loss of loved ones, and changes in mobility and health. Research shows that engaging in creative activities, such as painting, singing, reading, or dancing, helps lower stress, improve cognitive function, strengthen our bodies, address mental health concerns, and provide a greater sense of purpose and community.
Kate Dupuis, Schlegel Innovation Leader in Arts and Aging at the Schlegel-UW Research Institute for Aging (RIA) and Sheridan College’s Centre for Elder Research, focuses on the connection between the arts, health, and aging, and how active and passive participation in the arts can benefit all areas of our health and well-being.
Engaging in the arts, creativity, and self-expression represents a unique opportunity to encourage learning, purpose, and connection in older adults. For older adults living with dementia, the arts help people connect and communicate when spoken language becomes difficult or impossible. Long-held musical memories may be restored, or songs from younger years may be sung to support reminiscence and social bonding. For care partners, engaging in the arts is an excellent source of stress release and a way to find respite in a difficult time.
Here are a few tips to easily incorporate creativity into your life:
- Take an Art Class or Workshop (in person or online): Many community centers and local art studios offer beginner-friendly classes and workshops (check your local listings), and online platforms, such as YouTube, offer free or low-cost at-home learning in everything from painting to photography to music lessons.
- Start a Daily Creative Habit: Dedicate 10 minutes a day to colouring, journaling, collaging, dancing, or singing. This can help support brain health and emotional well-being.
- Intergenerational Engagement: The arts can support opportunities for intergenerational interactions, such as singing nursery rhymes with a toddler or sharing newly learned painting techniques with an older grandchild.