Why Creativity Is The Most Powerful Health Tool You’re Not Using with Professor Daisy Fancourt #654

Why Creativity Is The Most Powerful Health Tool You’re Not Using with Professor Daisy Fancourt #654

May 5, 2026 · 1h 31m · Season 9 · Episode 654

About this episode

The episode discusses the importance of creativity as a vital component of health, featuring insights from Professor Daisy Fancourt.

Most of us know that nutrition, movement and sleep are key pillars of health. But what if I told you that creativity belongs in the same conversation – and the science to prove it has been mounting up for decades? Professor Daisy Fancourt, one of the world’s leading health researchers, has uncovered a wealth of evidence linking engagement with the arts to improved mental and physical health. It’s all collected in her wonderful book, Art Cure, and I only wish it had existed as required reading when I was a medical student. Daisy agrees it’s been a ‘bizarrely well-kept secret’. We think of creative pursuits – music, theatre, dancing, arts and crafts – as ‘nice to haves’ but not necessary parts of life. But she believes a public awareness shift is on the horizon. Just as we’ve come to understand that exercise is an essential component of health, so too will we realise that ‘art as medicine’ is a scientific fact – one to be prescribed not ignored. It’s quite the promise – and a really exciting one to consider. Because for most of us, the arts represent enjoyment. So this health advice could be the easiest and most pleasurable you’ve ever followed! During this conversation Daisy and I…

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