Stressed out? Try a museum art break

  

In a world filled with the sounds and images of shock and awe, with reams of bad news confronting us on our phones, radios, televisions and newspapers, I decided to turn off all of the noise, get into my car, and drop by our local Museum of Arts and Sciences to calm down and reconnect with myself.

As the former director there, and as a partner in the development of serious galleries of art as cornerstones of the museum experience, I am also an educator keenly interested in the highest and best uses of a professionally run museum. And yes, a 30-minute walk through the halls of our exceptional Museum of Arts and Sciences helped tune out much of the outside noise affecting our mental and emotional well-being.

Back at home and curious about my heightened sense of peace of mind, a brief bit of research online revealed recent scientific studies in England and the United States that confirmed that engaging with the visual arts can lower stress, increase our capacity for empathy, and re-stimulate our most positive memories. A recent study at the University of Westminster, England, reported that a museum experience with art, as brief as 35 minutes, can lower the brain levels of the dangerous stress hormone cortisol, and at the same time increase the production of dopamine, the chemical that stimulates the emotions of love and pleasure.

Recent publications and books like “The Benefits of a Museum Experience,” by author and educator Jan Packer, found that a museum experience is akin to a refreshing walk in nature and contributes to a type of mental restoration as well as an emotional re-set of our consciousness and psyche. The University of Arkansas just discovered that children who look at art improved their critical thinking and overall empathy. This study of 10,000 students showed up to an amazing 18 percent improvement in critical thinking, historical awareness, and cultural empathy when these students were observed and tested.

Imagine, resilience, adaptability, stress reduction, and increased positivity and pleasure, are all potential gifts of a brief visit to a museum. And we in Volusia County are blessed with a number of professional museums and art centers, suiting many interests and needs.

Those who are dumbfounded over the daily onslaught of disturbing news, consider a personal visit to a visual arts museum as one proven way of coping in our “breaking” world.

Gary R. Libby, Daytona Beach

 

— Libby is the director emeritus of the Museum of Arts and Sciences, Daytona Beach, and a former board member of the Florida Arts Council.

 

Speedy response

On Tuesday afternoon, April 17, I used the city of Daytona Beach's website to notify the Public Works Department of a dangerous dead tree in my neighborhood.

 

By 10 a.m. April 18, the tree had been inspected, marked, and taken down! Kudos to the department and employees for a fantastic response time and job well done.

 

Madena Chandler, Daytona Beach

 

Balancing rights

I read the April 18 letter "Voting is a right." First I would like to thank the author for converting the Roman numerals used in the Constitution to real numbers for us rednecks who never matriculated to anything beyond the VI (sixth) grade. Being aware of the writer's slanted view on some amendments to the Constitution, I am amazed at his strict adherence to those concerning voting rights. I would opine that he wants convicted felons to have their right to vote restored when they are no longer incarcerated. The Democrats desperately need the votes, probably.

His closing remark is: "Hearing an erroneous belief about a fundamental right of all citizens is a bit unsettling. Voting is a right!" This is written by a person who probably wants to take away my guns. Read the II (Second) Amendment; it protects the right of the people to keep and bear arms. Capisce? A felon's right to vote is not in the Constitution; my right to be armed is! President Donald Trump guarantees me that right.

 

Douglas Glover, Palm Coast