Creativity

Visiting museums and galleries is a popular way to de-stress, according to a new study.

Wallace Ludel
Jan 23, 2019 3:57PM, via press release

Photo by Kevin Laminto, via Unsplash.

A recent study carried out by the British nonprofit Art Fund found that, among the study’s 2,521 participants, visiting museums and galleries was a common way to “de-stress.” Art Fund’s study, published under the title “Calm and Collected — Museums and galleries: the U.K.’s untapped well-being resource?”, details that 63% of U.K. adults “used a visit to a museum or gallery to ‘de-stress,’” while “only 6% of [them] visit a museum or gallery regularly.” Those who do visit museums and galleries regularly, the study noted, “report a greater sense of satisfaction with their lives than those who have never visited—as well as a greater sense of their lives and what they do being worthwhile.”

Of those who reported visiting galleries and museums regularly, participants under 30 were twice as likely to do so to de-stress. The study’s findings led Art Fund to launch its “Under 30 National Art Pass,” available to anyone under the age of 30, which offers a discounted admission to over 240 museums, galleries, and historic sites throughout the U.K. (many British museums offer free admission by default), as well as 50% discounts on admission to special exhibitions.

Visiting museums and galleries has been proven to provide myriad other wellness benefits, including boosting standardized test scores and improving one’s capacity for empathy.

Wallace Ludel