Go ahead and pick up that paint brush. Make beautiful music. Dance as if no one is watching.
According to a new study in Nature Communications, people who regularly engage in creative activities—like dancing, playing music, making art, or even mastering a complex strategy video game—tend to have younger-looking brains than their peers. Moreover, even beginners who took up a creative activity for just a few weeks showed measurable brain benefits.
“This is not just a solution for the da Vincis of the world. Anyone can benefit from having a creative hobby, not just geniuses or professional artists,” study author AgustĂn Ibáñez, director of the Latin American Brain Health Institute, told The Washington Post. Â
Led by an international team of neuroscientists, the study analyzed 1,473 healthy participants from multiple countries and asked a simple question: Does a creative Lifestyle show up in the brain’s biology?
Instead of just looking at chronological age, the researchers used “brain clocks”—machine-learning models trained on EEG brain activity—to estimate each person’s “brain age.”
They then calculated a brain age gap (BAG) = predicted brain age – actual age. A negative BAG means the brain looks younger than expected (good news). A positive BAG means the brain looks older than expected (a risk factor often linked to various neurological and psychiatric conditions).
For the study, the team looked at people with different levels of creative experience:
Across all four domains—dance, music, visual arts, and strategy gaming—people with more creative experience showed delayed brain Aging by about five to seven years compared to people with less experience. Highly skilled tango dancers, in particular, seemed to have more youthful brains.
Short-term video game learners delayed brain aging by about three years.
In other words: more years of creative practice → bigger delay in brain aging. Even so, beginners got measurable benefits, suggesting you don’t need decades of practice before your brain starts to benefit.
Using tools from network science and computational modeling, the researchers found that creative experience was associated with:
These changes are exactly the kinds of patterns that other research has linked to healthier aging and resilience against disease. Long-term engagement in complex, challenging activities—like learning music, choreography, or game strategy—builds what is known as cognitive reserve: extra mental and neural “backup” that helps to protect the brain over time.
[Read: How cognitive reserve helps maintain late-life cognitive health]
Creativity is often intrinsically rewarding. That emotional “spark” translates into:
Other research shows that arts engagement can reduce Depression and pain, and improve quality of life, which in turn supports cognitive health over time.
Many creative hobbies—dance classes, choirs, theatre groups, art workshops—layer social connection and physical movement on top of cognitive challenge. As we reported here and here, social engagement and physical activity are in themselves linked to reduced dementia risk and better late-life cognition, so creative pursuits give you a kind of three-for-one benefit.
Here are some ideas for weaving more creativity into everyday life. (No talent or perfectionism required.)
1. Choose one “brain-healthy” creative anchor
Pick one primary creative hobby to treat as a weekly anchor, for example:
Aim for at least 1–3 hours per week of focused, absorbing practice.
2. Prioritize activities that are challenging + open-ended
The study suggests the key isn’t just stimulus; it’s creative problem-solving. Look for activities that:
A few good examples:
3. Try a 30-hour creative challenge
Inspired by the StarCraft II training arm of the study, set yourself a concrete experiment to spend at least 30 hours over the next month learning a skill. For example, you might:
Remember, the point isn’t mastery; it’s giving your brain a short, concentrated dose of creative challenge.
4. Mix body and brain
Because many of the strongest brain benefits show up when attention, coordination, and movement are combined, consider at least one embodied creative hobby. This could be tango, salsa, folk, or contemporary dance; musical theatre or acting; drumming or other rhythm-heavy music
These blend motor learning with rhythm, timing, and social interaction—great ingredients for better brain health.
5. Don’t underestimate receptive arts (being an audience)
Per The Washington Post report, research indicates that simply attending concerts, plays, museums, and exhibitions is also linked to better memory and slower cognitive decline over time. So, if doing feels intimidating right now, start with a weekly concert, play, gallery or museum visit, or film series. Receptive arts aren’t a substitute for doing, but they do seem to contribute to a brain-healthy lifestyle.
6. Get social
Where possible, choose creativity that connects you to other people. For example, you could join a choir instead of always singing alone; take a group class rather than a solo course or start a monthly journaling evening with friends or Family. Not only can creative communities be motivating, but regular social engagement is a powerful buffer against brain aging.
7. Embrace being a beginner
The study showed that even novices can move their brain clocks in the right direction once they start learning something demanding and creative. So be patient with yourself.
8. Build micro-creativity into daily life
Not everything has to be a big project. Sprinkle in smaller acts of creativity, such as:
These micro-moments won’t replace sustained practice, but they help keep your brain in a playful, exploratory mode.
9. Protect your creative time like a health appointment
Think of your creative sessions as brain-health appointments:
10. Combine creativity with other healthy habits
As mentioned, creativity plays especially well with:
Think of creativity as a hub where multiple pro-brain habits meet.
This study doesn’t just confirm that creative hobbies can be emotionally rewarding. It shows, with sophisticated brain-imaging and machine-learning tools, that they’re linked to yet another tool for Longevity: a biologically younger brain.
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Content on this site is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always check with your qualified healthcare providers with any questions or concerns regarding a medical condition.
