Want to live to a ripe old age? Personally, I'm very keen on the idea. So I'm intrigued by a new study from University College London, which found that singing, painting, visiting galleries and attending cultural events actually slow your biological ageing. Not metaphorically. Not anecdotally. At a cellular level, measurable in your blood.
The research, published in the journal Innovation in Aging, found that people who took part in arts and cultural activities at least once a week were, on average, a year younger biologically than those who rarely engaged. Those who exercised once a week? Only six months younger by the same measure. The arts, in short, outperform the gym.
