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5 full-body benefits of dancing
We all know that exercise comes with big benefits, yet even in the exercise realm, there’s one activity that stands out for the positive changes it can make in your life…
Dancing.
Yup, hitting the dance floor and boogieing the night away (or the day, or the hour, or even just a few minutes away) has been scientifically proven time and again to be one of the best things you can do for your health.
Let’s take a look at just a few of the benefits dancing delivers…
#1 – Better Brain Health
As my colleague, Jenny Smiechowski, reported on, the secret to a bigger brain is on the dance floor.
That’s because a study by German researchers found that dancing results in growth in your hippocampus – the region of your brain responsible for memory and learning… the part that shrinks as you get older leading to dementia and Alzheimer’s.
And, that wasn’t the only benefit seen with dance.
Dancing also led to better balance and changes in growth in areas of the brain that controls episodic memory, special navigation and response to stress!
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#2 – Reduced Pain
Dr. Mark Wiley, an internationally renowned mind-body health practitioner, who holds doctorates in both Oriental and alternative medicine, also recommends dancing for pain relief.
He notes that a study by Oxford University’s Experimental Psychology and Anthropology Departments found that dancing alleviates pain by raising your pain threshold, thanks to the exertion and synchronization it requires.
#3 – Improved Body Image
Poor body image can lead to multiple health problems, from depression and anxiety to eating disorders and substance abuse but dancing has the power to change all of that.
In fact, Australian scientists discovered that one particular type of dancing gives women more positive feelings about their bodies – belly dancing – which makes them view their bodies in a “healthier light”.
#4 – Improved Flexibility, Energy and Happiness
If those weren’t enough to make you want to put on your dancing shoes, there’s more…
A study by researchers at the Queensland University of Technology in Australia found that seniors who participate in a dance program, like ballet, experience greater flexibility, feel more energetic, improve their posture and even feel happier and better about their lives.
#5 – Lower Risk of Disability
And, now a new study published in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports is once again giving you’re a reason to twinkle those toes.
The study set out to determine what types of exercise are most likely to prevent disability as you age. The researchers enrolled over 1,000 older Japanese women without disability at the start and asked whether or not they participated in any of 16 exercise types.
They then assessed disability during eight years of follow-up which was defined as dependence in at least one activity of daily living task (like walking, eating, bathing, dressing, or toileting).
And, guess what they found…
People who participated in some form of dancing had a 73 percent lower chance of developing a disability!
On the other hand, there were no significant associations between other exercise types and risk of disability.
In other words, dancing is the only type of exercise that prevents disability.
According to lead author Dr. Yosuke Osuka, of the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, “Although it is unclear why dancing alone reduced the risk of ADL disability, dancing requires not only balance, strength, and endurance ability, but also cognitive ability: adaptability and concentration to move according to the music and partner, artistry for graceful and fluid motion, and memory for choreography. We think that these various elements may contribute to the superiority of dancing in maintaining a higher ADL capacity.”
So, if you want to grab all of these amazing benefits, from better brain health to a lower risk of disability as you age, get out there and dance!
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Sources:
- Body Image Of Women — Mirror-Mirror.org
- Dance your way to a healthier self-image — Easy Health Options®
- Dancing may help older women maintain the ability to perform daily tasks — Wiley
By Dr. Adria Schmedthorst
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