NAIROBI, Kenya – A new international study suggests that engaging in creative activities—from dancing and painting to playing video games—could help the brain stay younger for longer.
Researchers from 13 countries found that creative pursuits significantly improved brain health and slowed down the brain’s biological ageing, as measured by an artificial intelligence (AI) “brain clock.”
The findings were led by neuroscientists Carlos Coronel and Agustín Ibáñez, who say the results reveal how creativity can shape not just culture and emotion, but biology itself.
“Creativity is not just about expression—it’s a biological pathway to brain health and resilience,” said Dr Ibáñez. “We found that the more people practised their art, the younger their brains appeared.”
How Creativity Keeps the Brain Young
The study examined brain data from nearly 1,400 participants across several disciplines, including expert tango dancers, musicians, visual artists, and gamers.
Their brain activity was recorded using magnetoencephalography and electroencephalography, allowing scientists to train AI models to estimate each participant’s “brain age.”
The results were striking:
- Tango dancers had brains that appeared more than seven years younger than their actual age.
- Musicians and visual artists showed brains that looked five to six years younger.
- Gamers demonstrated a four-year reduction in brain age.
Even short-term creative engagement produced measurable benefits. In a smaller experiment, non-experts who trained for just 30 hours on the strategy video game StarCraft II showed a two to three-year reduction in their brain’s biological age.
Science Behind the Art
The researchers used AI-driven “brain clocks” to assess brain health and advanced “biophysical models” to understand how creativity influences neural function.
These digital brain simulations showed that creative activities strengthen and preserve communication between brain regions that are typically vulnerable to ageing—especially those linked to learning and focus.
In simple terms, creativity appears to build “better roads” between different parts of the brain, helping it function more efficiently and stay resilient over time.
Rethinking Brain Health
The findings, published by the international research consortium, suggest that creative engagement should be considered an essential component of healthy ageing—on par with physical exercise and mental training.
“Arts and sciences are not opposites,” Dr Coronel noted. “They are partners in understanding and maintaining our wellbeing.”
The researchers hope their work will inspire policymakers and educators to integrate arts and creative learning into health and ageing programs.
“Your next dance step, brush stroke, or musical note,” the team wrote, “might just help your brain stay a little younger.”
