World Health Organization praises didgeridoo, choir singing calligraphy and waltzing for health

Didgeridoo lessons, choir singing and calligraphy can each benefit health, according to a major review.

For the first time, the World Health Organisation (WHO) looked at the ways in which the arts can prevent and treat illness.

Among those which showed ‘a robust impact of the arts’ on health’ included dance for PTSD to relive tension in muscles and group-knitting to encourage socialising in dementia patients. 

Some art interventions, the WHO claimed, show comparable or stronger effects than medication or exercise. 

Playing the didgeridoo improved respiratory function in males and helped children with asthma become more aware of their condition, a report by the World Health Organization said

The WHO’s European branch looked at 900 publications, including reviews covering 3,000 further studies, in English and Russian from January 2000 to May 2019. 

The studies covered mental and physical illness, including diseases like cancer and diabetes, and neurological disorders such as cerebral palsy and stroke.

The arts were divided into five categories: performing arts, visual arts, literature, culture, and online arts.   

One highlighted study showed didgeridoo lessons for asthmatic Australian children improved respiratory function in males.

The review said the lessons also helped improve adherence to asthma management plans and their condition as a whole.

Similarly, singing has a number of similarities to breathing techniques used to treat respiratory diseases by clearing airways, the report said. 

WHAT WERE SOME OF THE FINDINGS? 

Toothbrushes which play songs while you brush have been shown to improve oral health in blind children in South India.

Dance was found to help people with post-traumatic stress disorder build a healthy relationship with their body by helping them counter ‘body armouring’, when the muscles tense due to stress, and reducing stiffness. In patients with diabetes, it has the ability to reduce blood pressure and help control blood sugar levels.

Music, group knitting, pottery and shared reading can support the maintenance of social skills in people with dementia, as well as affirming a sense of identity. 

The arts can also be supportive in palliative or end-of-life care by enabling a patient to emotionally express themselves. 

Didgeridoo lessons in Australian schools improved respiratory function in males. The review said the lessons also helped improve adherence to asthma management, by raising awareness.

It can also improve exercise capacity in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Meeting for choir singing can provide distraction for addicts, reduce depression and provide social opportunities for dementia patients. 

A month of calligraphy training was shown to reduce stress in children who survived the 2008 China earthquakes. 

It also lessened hyperarousal, a side effect of PTSD which causes angry outbursts, panic attacks or anxiety. 

Other examples included waltzing, which was found to be as effective as aerobic exercise for improving functional capacity in patients with chronic heart failure. 

Activities such as choir singing, art-making, expressive writing and group drumming can reduce mental distress, depression and anxiety in adults, the evidence suggested.

These activities also provide a place to socialise and enhance a feeling of well being. 

Dr Piroska Ostlin, WHO regional director for Europe, said: ‘The examples cited in this groundbreaking WHO report show ways in which the arts can tackle “wicked” or complex health challenges such as diabetes, obesity and mental ill-health. 

‘They consider health and well-being in a broader societal and community context, and offer solutions that common medical practice has so far been unable to address effectively.’ 

Lead author of the study, Dr Daisy Fancourt, University College London, said: ‘This report highlights that engagement with the arts can affect social determinants of health, improving social cohesion and reducing social inequalities and inequities. 

‘Crucially, the arts can support the prevention of illness and promotion of good health.’ 

The researchers said the arts are often most cost-effective to health interventions. 

Therefore, they say policy-makers should support encouraging art interventions where there is robust evidence they work.

This may be the use of recorded music for patients prior to surgery and arts for patients with dementia. 

But there is more research which could benefit millions – there are less studies looking into digital arts than music, dance and visual arts, for example.

There is also gaps in research for infectious diseases and autoimmune disorders.   

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