Art Isn’t Optional: The Science Behind Why Beauty Actually Heals Us
Did you see that the New York Times featured an article where it talks about how beauty (the arts) will save us? How the very things culture and society has cut funding to in education (and beyond), the things you yourself have probably unconsciously decided at best isn’t “essential” and at worst, a frivolous hobby — something for those who have extra time and extra money (do these people exist?). These very things are now being deemed the answer to our problems. Wow, I’m shocked (rolls eyes, as if I haven’t been screaming this to the void/masses myself for the last year). BUT the NY Times said it, so maybe we’ll start paying attention?
It’s tough because times are tight in all the ways, and the benefit of art feels a bit more abstract than the very tangible benefit of say…food. It doesn’t quite make sense how art could impact us at a cellular level, or at any level that would make a real difference, so it feels more right to spend our money at the gym or in different therapies or a massage. Don’t think I’m out of touch — “massage” has not been a line in our budget since…ever? All of these things we can understand logically, we can make sense of practically. Hanging art on the wall and expecting healing and heart change? But…..how?….that doesn’t sound right. And I don’t blame you. Not a single bit. But you guys, the science behind it—it’s undeniable. Even I have to remind myself of it.
I’m currently reading the book “We Need Your Art” by Amie McNee. And beyond just a true hype up book for anyone who creates in any capacity (cough cough, everyone). She outlines the science behind engaging with the arts—even the act of surrounding yourself with art. It’s WILD. Some science suggests that art would do more for the most oppressed groups of people than the strongest economic relief programs. Science describes art like this: if 1 pharmaceutical is taken to trigger a few reactions in your body, addressing a symptom or two, art is like taking a handful of pharmaceuticals—each one responsible for a different cellular reaction and symptom. Essentially art triggers MILLIONS of cellular reactions in our bodies all at once. From our brains to our hearts to our toes. As I’ve been shouting to the internet that ART HEALS, I PROMISE YOU…and the internet has been like blink, blink, what?, the arsenal for this assertion just keeps growing and growing—to the point where even the NY Times is like “fine, we believe you”. And I’m going to go ahead and believe that I have personally influenced them in this revelation.
And here’s the part that gets me—this isn’t just poetic. Studies show that engaging with art can lower cortisol levels (your stress hormone), improve nervous system function, activate the brain’s reward system, and even support recovery from anxiety and depression, as well as play a functional role in healing trauma. The World Health Organization reviewed over 900 studies and found that the arts play a significant measurable role in human health and well-being. Not as a luxury—but as something deeply, biologically human. Even though society, culture, and our subconscious biases (even my own) may treat beauty and the arts like an afterthought, your body doesn’t treat it like extra. It tangibly responds to it like it matters—because it does.
I’ve said this from the start: I wish I could take your insurance like these pharmacutical companies out here can. I wish my site was HSA/FSA eligible. But I can’t, and it’s not. And while I’ll always be a strong advocate for original art, thankfully, prints make owning real art, from real humans more accessible. Either way, however you do it, I hope you’ll lean into the scientific reality of the arts in your life…both as a creator and a consumer. Because surrounding yourself with beauty isn’t a luxury—it’s a necessity.
