Museums: Discover how good they are for you!

Some people get bored when they are going to museums while for others it is an enjoyable experience. How many of us know that museums have an impact on our mental and physical health? It doesn’t matter if we stay in a museum for half an hour or for two hours. As long as we pay a visit we will soon realize the effects they have on us! In an survey done by the Art Fund, a charity that helps museums and galleries acquire and exhibit works of art, 63% of respondents said they visited the museum to de-stress. It is not very difficult to understand why museums have this effect on us. When you focus your mind on an object then your anxious thoughts stop for a while. Also, when you are in a museum, either alone or with friends, you take time for yourself. You “nourish” your soul with art and beauty and thus you take a step closer to well-being. If, indeed, you use your mind during your museum tour to understand the artwork and read the information on the various exhibits then you are improving its function. New experiences promote the brain’s neuroplasticity, the ability to adapt by creating new pathways to assimilate new information. Neuroplasticity decreases as we grow older. So visiting a museum is one of the many ways we can enhance it. If you go to a museum with friends then you also enhance your sociability. Your body releases hormones of joy, you calm down and create new memories! Giota Florou Source: saga.co.uk Recent Articles