These Fun Activities May Support Longevity As Much As Exercise
What if listening to music, reading your favorite book, or knitting could be just as beneficial for your longevity as exercise? It sounds too good to be true, but a new study from University College London found just that.
Researchers found that people who regularly engaged in arts and cultural activities like reading, listening to music, crafting, attending concerts, or visiting museums appeared to age more slowly at a biological level.
The researchers measured biological aging through DNA markers
The study analyzed data from 3,556 adults in the U.K. Researchers looked at how often people engaged in arts and cultural activities like reading, listening to music, crafting, visiting museums, or attending concerts and compared those habits against advanced measures of biological aging.
Instead of simply looking at chronological age, researchers used “epigenetic clocks,” tools that estimate how quickly the body is aging based on chemical changes to DNA. In simple terms, they help measure how “old” the body appears biologically.
The findings were surprisingly consistent. People who engaged in arts and cultural activities more frequently, especially those who participated in a wider variety of activities, tended to show signs of slower biological aging.
The strongest results came from newer aging measures designed to predict long-term health decline more accurately. People who engaged in arts activities weekly appeared to age about 4% more slowly biologically compared to those who rarely participated, an effect size researchers say was comparable to regular exercise.
Why creative engagement may affect aging in the first place
These findings align with what we already know about stress and brain health. Researchers point out that chronic stress accelerates biological aging across multiple systems in the body. Arts engagement appears to interrupt some of those pathways. Previous research has shown that creative activities can reduce stress hormones, lower inflammation, improve mood regulation, and support cardiovascular health.
Different activities may also provide different “ingredients” for healthy aging.
Reading challenges cognition and attention. Music regulates emotion and nervous system activity. Crafting often combines focus, movement, novelty, and tactile stimulation. Museums, concerts, and group activities add social connection and community, both of which strongly influence long-term health outcomes.
The diversity piece in this study was especially interesting. People who engaged in a wider variety of arts activities tended to show slower biological aging than those with more limited engagement patterns. Researchers believe that variety may expose people to broader forms of cognitive, emotional, and social stimulation over time.
What this means for healthy aging habits
One of the interesting things about this study is that it pushes back against the idea that healthy aging only comes from “productive” wellness habits. Not everything that benefits the brain has to look intense, optimized, or physically demanding.
Researchers are increasingly finding that the brain seems to respond really well to things that make us feel mentally engaged, emotionally connected, creative, curious, or simply absorbed in something enjoyable.
That could look like:
- Joining a pottery or painting class
- Listening to music more intentionally
- Reading fiction before bed
- Learning an instrument later in life
- Going to museums, concerts, or theater performances
- Gardening, knitting, photography, dancing, or other creative hobbies
The takeaway
Healthy aging is often framed like a checklist: exercise more, eat better, sleep eight hours, repeat. And yes, those habits matter. But this research is a reminder that the brain seems to care about more than just physical inputs. Feeling engaged, inspired, connected, challenged, emotionally moved—those experiences are part of healthy aging, too.