We live in an age obsessed with looking younger. From Botox and anti-ageing treatments to a quick search for “how can I look younger?”, there is no shortage of advice promising to turn back the clock. But perhaps ageing well has less to do with how we look and more to do with how we engage with the world. Perhaps getting culturally curious is another way of thinking about it. Going to the cinema or concerts, visiting a museum or travelling may offer something far more valuable to our wellbeing than another treatment or product ever could.

Researchers at the Institute of Science Tokyo have examined this idea in a study published in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health. Titled “Cultural engagement and physiological ageing: a fixed-effects analysis”, the research looked at whether taking part in cultural activities is associated with physiological ageing.

Ageing is a universal process, but it does not happen at the same pace for everyone. While chronological age simply refers to the number of years a person has lived, physiological age reflects the deterioration of the body’s functions associated with ageing. The two do not always correspond. Someone may be 60 by the calendar, for instance, while their physiological age may suggest a younger or older state of health.

Physiological age is increasingly considered an important measure of healthy ageing because it can provide a clearer picture of a person’s health and future risk of disease than chronological age alone. Understanding what may influence the pace of physiological ageing, therefore, has become an important area of research.

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Cultural engagement has already been linked to various aspects of health and wellbeing. Especially among the older adults, and this is also your clue to go out! Going to the movies, visiting museums, travelling, or taking part in artistic and cultural activities has been associated with better mental health and social wellbeing. Research in European countries has also linked participation in arts activities with a lower risk of mortality, while studies in Japan have found that older adults who engage in artistic and cultural activities may have a lower risk of depressive symptoms and cognitive impairment.

But the relationship between cultural engagement and biological or physiological ageing has received less attention.

The researchers point to earlier work that offers some clues. One study examining cultural participation and epigenetic clocks, which are used to estimate biological ageing, found that people who took part in cultural activities at least once a month showed physiological ageing that was around 0.8 years slower.

So, why might culture matter to the ageing process?

One possibility is social connection. Cultural activities often bring people together, whether at a concert, a cinema, a museum or a theatre. Previous research has found that regular participation in cultural activities may be associated with a lower risk of loneliness over time.

There may also be behavioural benefits. People who engage in cultural activities have been found in some studies to be more likely to maintain healthier diets and remain physically active.

Then there is mental health. Cultural engagement has been linked to better mental wellbeing and lower psychological distress, both of which may be associated with healthier physiological ageing.

The researchers suggest that these social, behavioural and psychological pathways could help explain the relationship between cultural engagement and the way the body ages.

It offers a rather different perspective on the pursuit of youth. Perhaps ageing well is not simply about preserving what we see in the mirror. It may also be about remaining connected to the things that make life interesting: a film, a concert, a painting, a journey, a conversation, or simply the curiosity to experience something new.