If you want a free, easy way to reduce stress this coming school year, take a trip to the U’s Museum of Fine Arts (UMFA) and look around.
Visiting an art gallery for as little as a half an hour can rapidly decrease levels of the stress-related hormone cortisol, according to a study from the University of Westminister. Researchers reported participants’ stress-levels normalized five hours faster than they would on their own. Iris Moulton, coordinator of campus engagement at the UMFA, said she has no doubt to the health benefits.
“The power of putting away our screens to look at a work of art, to focus just on what you’re seeing, is a necessary balance,” Moulton said. “I am constantly astounded by the collection on view at the UMFA — I walk through the galleries every day just to walk to my desk, and it never gets old.”
The American College Health Association reported that in 2014, 43.2 percent of undergraduates experienced feeling more than average amounts of stress, while 10.6 percent stated they were feeling tremendous levels. Chronic stress can drastically affect students’ health and contributes to sleep issues, anxiety and memory impairment. The 2014 American Freshman annual survey reported students’ self-rated health was the lowest it’s ever been at 50.7 percent, with 34.6 percent feeling frequently overwhelmed and 9.5 percent frequently depressed.
So what health benefits can come from looking at paintings and sculptures? According to a study from the Emory University School of Medicine, human brains are hardwired to receive positive reinforcement from looking at art. Areas related to the brain’s reward circuit activate even if the piece the viewer is looking at isn’t something they particularly like.
In addition to reducing stress, a 2014 report in the Brain and Cognition journal found a trip to an art museum could help boost creativity levels. Interaction with culture also correlates positively with good health, life satisfaction and lower levels of anxiety and depression, according to Norwegian Nord-Trøndelag Health Study.
Christian Clarke, a senior in fine arts, said he frequents the UMFA for class assignments and for his own enjoyment.
“It can transport a person away from their daily grind,” Clarke said. “Masterpieces exhibiting great skill and hard work can be a push for the viewer to desire to excel in their own life or field of work and to seek create a masterpiece of their own.”
Clarke said he enjoys the quiet and contemplative atmosphere of the museum and the chance to see masterpieces in person.
“A tiny picture of a magnificent painting or sculpture is not the same on the tiny screens of an iPhone as viewing the piece in person,” Clarke said. ““You see something different, you feel something different.”
The UMFA also offers programs with the goal of reducing students’ stress, including free yoga classes this semester, each Tuesday beginning Sept. 15, and a Chamber Music Series with student musicians performing in the galleries, which will start Sept. 2.
The museum is free to those with a valid UCard, members of the military and their families and to the public on the first Wednesday and third Saturday of each month, special exhibitions not included.
@EhmannKy