Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2016 Apr 2;33(2):74-80.
doi: 10.1080/07421656.2016.1166832. Epub 2016 May 23.

Reduction of Cortisol Levels and Participants' Responses Following Art Making

Girija Kaimal, Kendra Ray, Juan Muniz

Reduction of Cortisol Levels and Participants' Responses Following Art Making

Girija Kaimal et al. Art Ther (Alex). .

Abstract

This quasi-experimental study investigated the impact of visual art making on the cortisol levels of 39 healthy adults. Participants provided saliva samples to assess cortisol levels before and after 45 minutes of art making. Participants also provided written responses about the experience at the end of the session. Results indicate that art making resulted in statistically significant lowering of cortisol levels. Participants' written responses indicated that they found the art-making session to be relaxing, enjoyable, helpful for learning about new aspects of self, freeing from constraints, an evolving process of initial struggle to later resolution, and about flow/losing themselves in the work. They also reflected that the session evoked a desire to make art in the future. There were weak associations between changes in cortisol level and age, time of day, and participant responses related to learning about one's self and references to an evolving process in art making. There were no significant differences in outcomes based on prior experiences with art making, media choice, or gender.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Average Salivary Cortisol Levels Before (Dark Grey) and After (Light Grey) Art Making
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Individual Salivary Cortisol Levels Before (Dark Grey) and After (Light Grey) Art Making
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Range of Changes in Salivary Cortisol Levels Across Participants as a Result of Art Making
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Artwork Made Using Modeling Clay, Collage Materials, and Markers
Figure 5.
Figure 5.
Artwork Made Using Modeling Clay
Figure 6.
Figure 6.
Artwork Made Using Magazine Images for Collage
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Aboulafia-Brakha T., Suchecki D., Gouveia-Paulino F., Nitrini R., Ptak R. Cognitive-behavioural group therapy improves a psychophysiological marker of stress in caregivers of patients with Alzheimer's disease. Aging Mental Health. 2014:801–808. doi: 10.1080/13607863.2014.880406. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Belkofer C. M., Van Hecke A. V., Konopka L. M. Effects of drawing on alpha activity: A quantitative EEG study with implications for art therapy. Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy Association. 2014;(2):61–68. doi: 10.1080/07421656.2014. - DOI
    1. Bozovic D., Racic M., Ivkovic N. Salivary cortisol levels as a biological marker of stress reaction. Medical Archives. 2013:374–377. doi: 10.5455/medarh.2013.67.374-377. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Chanda M. L., Levitin D. J. The neurochemistry of music. Trends in Cognitive Sciences. 2013;(4):179–193. doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2013.02.007. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Debono M., Ghobadi C., Rostami-Hodjegan A., Huatan H., Campbell M. J., Newell-Price J., Ross R. J. Modified-release hydrocortisone to provide circadian cortisol profiles. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. 2009;(5):1548–1554. doi: 10.1210/jc.2008-2380. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources