Did you know that visiting a museum can lower your cortisol levels? Or that singing can bond a group faster than almost any other activity? We tend to think of the arts as entertainment, but science tells a different story. Today, we explore why creativity is hardwired into our biology and how it can be used to treat everything from postnatal depression to stroke recovery.

Daisy Fancourt is a Professor of Psychobiology & Epidemiology at UCL and the author of Art Cure: The Science of How the Arts Transform Our Health. A pioneer in the field of psychoneuroimmunology, she directs the WHO Collaborating Center on Arts and Health, where her research influences global health policy and the integration of the arts into medical care.

(0:00) The Healing Power of the Arts: Longevity, Immunity & Wellbeing

(4:14) The Story of Russell: How a stroke survivor used art classes to reclaim his life, health, and identity

(9:01) A Planet of 8 Billion Artists: Tracing the evolutionary origins of creativity back 40,000 years

(15:30) The Chemistry of Connection. Why singing evolved before language and how it accelerates group bonding

(20:32) Psychoneuroimmunology. Defining the biological mechanisms: how art reduces inflammation and cortisol

(25:57) The Professional Paradox: Balancing the wellbeing benefits of art with the pressures of a creative career

(30:03) Predictive Coding & Play: Why the human brain needs improvisation and why we shouldn't outsource creativity to AI

(33:26) Singing to Daphne: How Daisy usedsinging to comfort her premature daughter in the ICU

(37:55) World Health Organization, Public Policy & Social Prescribing

(46:04) Art & Longevity. How arts engagement can slow biological aging and alter gene expression

(58:17) Finding Artistic Reverence in Nature

Episode Website

www.creativeprocess.info/pod

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