So, this is what I'm wondering about. What if we have been thinking about the arts all wrong? What if when we go to a concert, it's not just entertainment? What if when we make something, make art, it's not just creative expression? What if when we visit a museum or if we go to a performance or we're dancing on the dance floor, what if that is actually doing something to our bodies, something that we should actually consider essential to our health? You know, we tend to put
life into categories up here, right? We say, "Oh, medicine takes care of our body and school takes care of our mind. Work creates value. And the arts, well, luxury, it's nice to have, certainly not a necessity. But actually, a growing body of research is showing that these categories aren't actually the way human beings work. And two books I've read recently help me really understand just how important, actually, I would say, how radical this idea is. So what is now one of my favorite books in the
world, your brain on art by Ivy Ross and Susan Maximman. It is it aggregates decades of research from around the globe connecting arts with wellness. And they also dive into this emerging science of neuroesthetics. And get this. So neuroesthetics is actually what happens in our brains and our nervous systems as they process and respond to art design and even beauty. The second book which is called art cure by Dr. Daisy Fancort. She looks at global research in public health and epidemiology and actually connects connects arts
engagement with health outcomes even across people's lifespans. So I have to say what's interesting is not so much what the authors think as what all of the data shows and data isn't noise right data is signals and in this case these signals point to something pretty profound although actually it's also deeply intuitive like as we unpack this you are going to know these things to be true it's data that we can use for ourselves and it's also data that I think can transform our communities. So,
let's unpack three big databased findings and see what it might mean. Number one, the arts and creativity actually changes our physiology. We're going to unpack this because this when I first read this, I thought this is crazy. However, the data would show uh and we're going to talk about things that are measured. And I will also just say it is crazy what you can measure now. So data shows that arts and creativ creativity actually has myriad impacts on our minds and our bodies including things like
it lowers our stress response. It can lower measurable cortisol. It can raise measurable dopamine. It regulates our heart rates, our nervous systems, our emotions. So the arts don't just create emotional responses, they are literally producing physiological responses in our body and in our brains. And here's an example that I think you will relate to. So you hear a certain song and you say, "Oh, crank that up. I love that song." Now, what would make you say that you love a song? Well, the data would say
that as you're listening to that song or maybe singing along to it, what's happening in your brain and your body, cortisol is lowering. You're getting hits of dopamine, right? Your heart rate is regulating. Your stress is dissipating. You are feeling positive. You're feeling good. These are feelings we associate with like or love. So, when you say you love the song, it's because you feel like you love the song. This is all actually happening in your brain and your body because the arts actually produce physiological responses.
Number two, the arts connect us and human connection is crucial to healthy living. Right? So again, the data shows that arts and creativity actually impacts loneliness and social connection. So when we participate in arts together and we are often doing these things in a group, right? As we sing, as we dance, perform, but even simply as we laugh and clap, we experience together, our bodies start to move in synchronized ways. In fact, the word for it is synchrony. So again, I'm sure you have experienced this.
You're like at a great concert and everyone's singing and maybe moving together, right? or you see a really moving performance and we all we gasp at the same time or we're all clapping or we're on the dance floor and we're all sweaty and moving together. Couple weeks ago I was at the MSU Nebraska football game and we're all singing the Star Spangled Banner in this stadium and out of the blue I start to tear up like I am crying singing the Star Spangled Banner and I'm
having these big waves of emotion. Well, that was synchry. I am literally syncing up with all of these people in the stadium singing together. And what we can measure is that yes, our emotions and our body synchronize, but also get this in synchrony our breathing all syncs up. Our heartbeat sync up. Our brain waves sync up. This is crazy, right? This happens when we do arts and creativity together. These are powerful, profound human connection experiences and we as Travis mentioned earlier, we are living now through
a time of like global epidemic stress and loneliness. So understanding this data helps us think about how we could combat that. The third finding is that the arts actually build resilience across our whole lifespan. Again, the data shows it actually connects engaging with arts with a whole myriad of healthful benefits, including mental wellness, improved cognitive function, and actually lowered rates of dementia, improved resilience, this is a crazy one, faster recovery times after accidents or injuries, higher quality of life, healthier aging, even longer lifespans. So a
recent study from the University of College London actually shows weekly arts engagement can have the same efficacy as certain types of exercise in terms of us living longer. It is like literally that profound. And the really good news is you do not have to be a professional to get these health outcomes. In fact, the data shows you do not even have to be good at these things, which is probably pretty fortunate for most of us, right? It is literally just the participation. But then you say,
well, okay, but what arts and creativity like? I don't play an instrument. Okay, but arts can look like playing instruments. That can look like singing, dancing. It can look like so many things. It can be cooking or baking. Can be gardening or landscaping, sewing embroidery knitting crocheting. It could look like making pottery or ceramics, woodworking. It can look like poetry, writing, storytelling. You get the drift. There are so many ways that you can engage with creativity or the arts and you are doing many of these
things already, right? You're already getting these health benefits. And simple participation literally can just mean watching, viewing, visiting a museum, and actually just simply engaging with beauty. So all of this, all this data points to a pretty big aha, right? It points to the fact that arts and creativity are actually key to living healthy and even longer lives. In fact, I would say we need to understand arts and creativity is one of the pillars of living healthy lives, right? We need to put it right up
there with nutrition, with exercise, with sleep. Just like Travis said, we need to be out in nature and arts and creativity. That's the fifth one, friends. Those are the big pillars. So now that you've got the data, I think the question is, well, what the heck do we do with this? Or maybe what do we do differently? The first thing is put art on your health calendar. If you didn't know you had an art art calendar, well, I'm telling you, put it on your art calendar.
So, here's the deal. You know this. We schedule things that we think are important, right? Other things kind of slip off to the side. Maybe we get to them. Mostly we don't, right? So now that we understand how the data impacts our lives, schedule it and don't wait till you're stressed out. Buy the concert tickets, schedule the art class, make time after your walk or after the gym to also do that project at home because it's not an indulgence, right? This is actually part of our
health routine. Put art on your health calendar and make something. Not because you're any good at it. that doesn't matter, right? It's the making that matters. That's how we get the health benefits. And whatever that looks like, and again, don't say you're not creative. I rattled off a really long list. And actually, if you Google it, you get like three pages of ways you can be creative. You're all creative. So, make something because the making, the participation is what catalyzes those health benefits. Making matters. Also,
do art with other people. this whole synchry thing, right? As we do things together in a class. So maybe sing in a choir, sign up for an art class with other people, get out on the dance floor, think about how you do things with other people. Because as the data shows, in very real ways, we don't just experience the arts with other people. We actually experience each other through the arts. And that human connection is so key to living a healthy life. So do art with
other people. And finally, pay attention to what moves you. Because this data, this is about your brain. It's about your body and what you love to do. So pay attention. What gets you curious? What do you love to do with other people? Uh what gets you in flow? What do you lose time when you're doing it? Pay attention to those things. and then schedule it on your health calendar because again it's not an indulgence. This is not a luxury. The arts and creativity are part of
healthy living. Right? So all of this data now we see okay this is how what I would do with it. It's how it impacts me as a human being. But what I keep wondering about is okay, if this is so important for us as humans, what does this mean for the institutions that were actually designed for humans? So what does the data mean for schools and libraries? Uh what would it mean for like senior centers or hospitals or our workplaces? What does the data mean for
institutions? So, I'll tell you what. Let's pull up and do I'm calling it a thought experiment and let's use schools because I think we all have experience in some way or another with schools. So, what would the data say about schools? Traditionally, we would say schools are for reading, writing, math, science, academic achievement, right? We do have arts, but often, well, in fact, what do we call them? Extracurriculars, specials. Usually, they're the first thing that gets pulled, right? We take them out. But the data is
saying something very different to us, right? The data would say that actually students who participate in arts and creativity, what? Lower stress levels, regulated emotions, lower cortisol, higher dopamine, like all the stuff that makes learning better, easier, right? In fact, the data would say we need to put this all right back in. theater goes back in, music goes back in, art class goes back in, but also we need to create curriculum that weaves in creativity and the arts into every class all day long. And this
can be done, my friends, because what the data says is that the arts actually support and make learning possible for students. So, we do them a disservice when we take it out of schools. Okay. Number two, arts organizations. Like what do we make of this? What would the data say? Traditionally, I think we would say that arts organizations, museums, arts centers, performance centers, well, the Miller, right? We think of them as program providers, entertainment providers, right? We would say that arts organizations are nice to have
in your community, but certainly they're not a a necessity. But the data would say something very different, right? The data would actually say that arts organizations should be thought of as well-being centers because everything that happens in an arts organization is literally catalyzing or contributing to your well-being or anybody who works there, performs there, who's a guest there. We should be thinking of arts organizations as well-being spaces. That's a shift, right? Also, we could see them as catalysts and conveners. We could understand that arts organizations
are actually part of the social infrastructure, a key part because what the data says is that arts are a key part of a healthy community infrastructure which would mean that art centers aren't a luxury. That in fact they are a necessity in our communities and they're a necessity in every community, not just the ones that can afford it. So that's a nut we need to crack. And this data would be the true for all the rest of the things we talked about, right? What does it
mean for libraries? What does it mean for hospitals? What does it mean for our workplaces? Right? What does it mean for senior communities? I would say the question isn't do the arts belong in these spaces. I think the right question is what happens or doesn't happen when the arts and creativity are missing from these spaces. So for a very long time we have thought of the arts and creativity as something that we add to human life after the hard the significant the important work is done.
Right? The arts and creativity are a luxury. It's nice to have, but it's not a necessity. But I think that the signals, the science signals are saying something very different. Maybe the arts and creativity aren't what we do after we take care of our minds and bodies. But in fact, the arts and creativity are key ways that we take care of our brains and our bodies from the start. Thank you.