A Little Known Secret to a Long Life

An emerging body of science suggests that everything from visiting gallery shows to taking on your own creative projects can keep you healthier longer. Looks like it's time to dust off that guitar you bought in college.

View in Browser  Saturday, February 07, 2026 I was a creative kid. When I wasn't button-mashing on my Game Boy, I was drawing comic books, writing songs, or making terrible short films with my friends. But as I grew up, life got busy. Family, work, and pets now take up the majority of my days. Esquire contributor Michael Clinton, however, believes we shouldn't hastily leave our creative pasts behind. Instead, we should embrace our crafty sides—because doing so might just lead to longer, more enriched lives. Read his argument below.   —Chris Hatler, deputy editor Plus: 7 best and most comfortable Hoka shoes for walking The Fallout season 2 finale is a bold reset Here's how to wear a blazer (or sports coat) and jeans Indulging in the Arts Is Proving to Have Major Health Benefits. Could Creativity be a Hidden Longevity Hack? An emerging body of science suggests that everything from visiting gallery shows to taking on your own creative projects can keep you healthier longer. Looks like it's time to dust off that guitar you bought in college. When the Academy Award nominations were announced late last month, you could be forgiven for thinking they were lifetime-achievement awards. In the Best Supporting Actor category, 74-year-old Stellan Skarsgård is competing against 73-year-old Delroy Lindo. (Sean Penn, at 65, and Benicio Del Toro, at 58, also in the category, are mere babes.) Amy Madigan, 75, is up for Best Supporting Actress. One of the Best Adapted Screenplay nominees is in their 60s, and one of the Best Original Screenplay nominees is in his 70s.   Could there be a tie between longevity and artistry that goes deeper than perfecting one's craft? Could these artists' stamina to continue the grueling work of creating their art have something to do with the energizing power of art itself? READ THE STORY Balls of hair, smiling papier-mâché heads, and a goatee-free Guy Fieri are just some of the horrifying images we've seen ahead of the big game. Josh Rosenberg ranks the best Super Bowl commercials so far. >> Pomade is a hair game-changer. It restores volume to give your locks the lift they needed. Bryn Gelbart shares a vetted list of the best ones. >> The Definitive Guide to Après-Ski Style Long before "Après-ski" was a marketing term deployed to sell you on athleisure made from stretchy plastic, it simply meant any activity that followed a day on the slopes. The phrase started in the French Alps (hence, you know, the French words) and came into common use around the 1950s when resort skiing had its first commercial boom. Over the years, it's evolved to encompass more than just mountain chalets, champagne, and fondue. Around here, après still revolves around eating and drinking, but there's another category, another pillar that the whole thing stands on: clothes. By Matthew Medendorp Taxi Driver Is 50 Years Old. Remember When Some Critics Got It Totally Wrong? Taxi Driver's first destination was a single movie screen on the east side of Manhattan. The harrowing Martin Scorsese drama opened in the Coronet Theatre on February 9, 1976, before gradually expanding across the country. Today it is regarded as one of the greatest films of the 20th century. At the time, however, the divided critical reactions became the journalistic version of a street fight.   Not everyone was ready for this soulful, tragic odyssey into violence and loneliness, with Robert De Niro starring as Travis Bickle, a cabbie who longs to wash the scum off the streets like a merciless rainstorm. By Anthony Breznican Follow Us Unsubscribe | Manage Preferences | Privacy Notice | CA Notice at Collection Esquire is a publication of Hearst Magazines. ©2026 Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This email was sent by Hearst Magazines, 300 West 57th Street, New York, NY 10019-3779