[photo]

David DiSalvo wrote an interesting piece in the Forbes blogs this week about a study of the link between men’s wellbeing and their appreciation of art. The title of the article is “Study: Men Who Dig Art and Culture are Happier, Healthier and Calmer.” Sounds intriguing, right? You can check out the abstract of the actual study, over here. But the gist of the data, according to DiSalvo is that,

Overall, both men and women who participated in cultural activities—including playing an instrument, painting, going to the theater and visiting museums—had lower levels of anxiety and depression, reported more life satisfaction, and generally “felt better” than those not participating in cultural activities.

But the biggest beneficiaries were men. And here’s the strange part: men more interested in watching and looking at culture—in museums and art galleries, for example – enjoyed the greatest benefits of all; even more than men actively participating in cultural and creative activities.

So apparently, a guy doesn’t even have to be an actively creative person to reap the mental/health benefits of appreciating those who are creative. I feel like I’m wound a bit more tightly than I would like to be, a lot of the time. Apparently, I need to spend some more time in the galleries.