Dancing can enhance neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections throughout life. Neuroplasticity allows the neurons (nerve cells) in the brain to compensate for injury and disease and to adjust their activities in response to new situations or to changes in their environment.
Dancing can reduce the risk of dementia. Dementia isn’t a specific disease, but a general term that describes a group of specific symptoms associated with memory loss.
Aga Burzynska did a study on people ages 60-80. She split them into 3 groups, one did brisk walking, one did stretching and balance training, and the third group did dance classes. Three times a week, the dance group learned country dance choreography. At the end of the study, brain scans were done on all participants and compared with scans taken before they started doing the workout activities. The dancers scored better and had less deterioration in their brains than the other groups.
Dancing is a mental escape. “Dancing is a good counter-activity to being stuck on a screen and being home,” according to Sandow, a dance physical therapist at NYU. This is backed up by science. According to a 2014 study, recreational dancers experienced positive changes in mood. However, competition dancers have higher stress levels and were more tense, similar to other competitive athletes. Dancing gives you endorphins, similar to a “runner’s high”.
Dancing has no age limit. Participants range from toddlers to elderly people because there are no rules so anyone can do it. Thore is a woman who lost over 100 pounds from dancing. She said dancing forces you to feel your muscles, bones and joints, and that “getting in touch with your body in that way is the first step to any kind of physical fitness.” Basically, everyone can do something, and it’s all valuable, no matter how big or small.
Dancing also improves flexibility. Although dance moves like arabesques look pretty, they also increase flexibility and reduce stiffness. Even without formal dance training, you can still get benefits from stretching. Increasing your flexibility can help relieve joint pain and also help you be less sore after exercise.
Dancing can reduces stress. There is research to back that up. In a controlled study in The Journal of Applied Gerontology, researchers found that dancing with a partner to music, can relieve stress. Gerontology is the study of the social, cultural, physiological, cognitive and biological aspects of ageing.
Dancing can lessen depression. Researchers have studied the effects of dancing on people who suffer from depression, and dancing really does make you happier. When people participated in upbeat group dance, the depression went down and vitality went up. Vitality is the state of being strong and active so when vitality goes up, that means you feel better.
Dancing can help your heart. If you are at risk of a cardiovascular disease, dancing is a good activity. People with heart failure who dance, improved their heart health, breathing and quality of life more than people who walked on a treadmill or rode a bicycle biked for exercise. This was from an Italian study. This is important because cardiovascular disease (heart disease), is currently the leading cause of death among women globally, according to a study by. (Bayer.com) (www.canwelivebetter.bayer.com/health/how-myth-heart-disease-mans-problem-hurts-woman?)
Dancing is different from other low-impact exercises because it has unique benefits that can’t be achieved with other sports activities. ‘Dancing can give you more than traditional cardio,’ Fabio Comana, an exercise physiologist and education team member for the National Academy of Sports Medicine said. Commana says the components of fitness are cardiovascular endurance, flexibility, muscular endurance, body composition and muscular strength. Running on the treadmill may improve cardiovascular endurance and body composition, but dancing can target both of those, as well as muscular endurance and flexibility.
Dancing is fun.’If exercise is not an enjoyable experience, we’re not going to do it,’ Comana said. Dancing is plain, simple and enjoyable in a way that running on a treadmill will probably never be. Also, dancing can help you release serotonin and endorphins. ‘People think, ‘I’m not exercising, I’m dancing,” he continued. ‘But at the end of the day, you’re moving and you’re burning calories. It’s just as good as a cardio class.’
‘This will push you to move for a longer period of time than typical exercise, purely because it’s a lot of fun and not the dreaded word ‘exercise,” Tracey Mallett said Anyone can dance. The nice thing about dance is that, unlike other forms of exercise, you don’t need to worry if you have the skill set or not. ‘There is a dancer in all of us,’ Mallett said, ‘and when we move our body to the music we naturally smile and want to keep moving.’ Mallet also said that dancing is about moving how you want to move, and not like everyone else.
Dancing is very inclusive. You don’t need a lot of equipment to dance. Dancing is something you can easily take into your own hands, and don’t need to schedule or plan. “The easiest solution is to put on your favorite music and move your body in your living room, which alone will burn lots of calories,’ Mallett said. You can get more structured if you like, for example getting a workout DVD. Dance like no one’s watching.
Dancing is good for your health! Dancing improves mental health. One part of mental health is emotional health. Dance is scientifically proven to fight stress, anxiety and depression. A study from “The Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine” was conducted on 112 teenage girls who suffered from poor mental health. In this study, half the girls attended dance classes every week and the other half didn’t. The girls who danced said that they felt happier for months after, even when they weren’t dancing.
Dancing can alleviate insomnia. Insomnia is a sleep disorder that is characterized by difficulty falling and/or staying asleep. People with insomnia have one or more of the following symptoms: Difficulty falling asleep, waking up often during the night and having trouble going back to sleep. Also, waking up too early in the morning, and/or feeling tired upon waking. (webmd.com) One hour of dancing can burn up to 500 calories. This additional relaxation can help you fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer. So not only is dancing fun, but it helps you sleep better.
Dancing can actually reverse the signs of ageing in the brain. The hippocampus region of the brain is the part that controls memory, balance and learning. Physical exercise has an anti-ageing effect on that region of the brain. A new study compared different form of exercise over 18 months, in elderly people. When they compared dancing and enduring training, they both had anti-ageing effects on the brain, but there was a behavioral difference with dancing only. This is attributed to the additional mental challenge associated with learning dance routines.
