June 4, 2022
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BBC Strictly Come Dancing is hugely popular
Dancing is a joy: it not only makes you happy, it also gives you the opportunity to interact with others. Research is still revealing just how much dancing can benefit your health and well-being.
Not only does dancing improve your mental health and memory, it also reduces pain and is even better for your brain and body than traditional exercise.
In his podcast Just One Thing, BBC Science presenter Dr Michael Mosley explores whether we should dance regularly and often if we want to improve our health:
dance
There is no doubt that dancing can strengthen your body. It has been shown to support mental health and enhance memory. Dancing is also effective in improving depression, as well as socializing.
There is also evidence that dancing can help manage a variety of diseases, including Parkinson’s disease and dementia, commonly known as Alzheimer’s.
Why is dancing so powerful?
One of the most surprising benefits of dancing is its rapid and dramatic effect on brain chemicals (brain chemistry).
Dancing really makes you feel good
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Dancing for self-entertainment is more relaxing and more effective than professional performance competitions.
Scientists believe that human society may have evolved a special relationship with dancing, which may explain why dancing can trigger positive emotions.
In one study, researchers at the University of Oxford found that dancing rhythmically with others significantly improved participants’ social bonding. They also found that dancing had a surprising effect on participants’ pain tolerance (pain threshold). It shows that just 10 minutes of dancing can release pain-relieving endorphins, the hormones that make you feel happy.
Dancing is absolutely the best
Dr. Mosley also learned to dance the cha cha himself.
Why is dancing better than other forms of sports? Part of the reason is that dance combines several important aspects: for example, music, movement, and social interaction.
An Australian research team surveyed nearly 50,000 people regarding their hobbies and followed them for up to 12 years, and they found surprising results. Dancing was associated with a 46 percent lower risk of stroke and sudden heart attack than other types of exercise of the same intensity. For example, people who walk a lot do not get the same benefits as dancing.
Another study, which tracked older adults’ interests and hobbies for five years, found that dancing was associated with a 76 percent reduction in Alzheimer’s disease.
Dr. Christensen, a neuroscientist at the Max Planck Institute in Germany and a former dancer, explained to Just One Thing that compared to other activities, dancing involves a much higher level of multitasking , this process is definitely a challenge to the brain.
Flexible hands and feet, flexible brain
image source,SUE HEALEY
Australian dancer Eileen Kramer, 106, has never been old-fashioned.
Dancing can strengthen the body and even make the mind more flexible. Dancing triggers new neural connections in the brain and encourages the neuroplasticity that enables the brain to change.
A study involving healthy volunteers found that just 30 minutes of salsa dancing improved spatial working memory by 18 percent following just one class.
Surprisingly, brain imaging studies have shown that learning to dance can greatly increase the brain’s hippocampus — an area that plays an important role in learning, memory, and air navigation.
In a long-term study, volunteers in their 60s were asked to either learn to dance (once a week) for 18 months; or to do a more traditional exercise.
After 18 months, brain scans revealed an increase in the volume of the hippocampus in both groups, but the greater change was seen in the dancing group.
get active
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Belly dancing is said to date back to the time of the Egyptian pharaohs (file photo)
Dancing is an invaluable way to increase your physical activity by getting your heartbeat to over 140 beats per minute and helping to burn more calories – regarding 340 calories per 30 minutes.
Dancing is a good mix of high-intensity and low-intensity movements. Plus, learning new dance moves is a fun way to challenge your brain.
dance
The good news is that it really doesn’t matter how well you dance. In fact, a completely self-entertaining dance is even better.
Competitive dancers who compete in dance competitions tend to have high levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, when they perform, Dr. Christensen explained.
And high levels of stress hormones can reduce immunity. Therefore, regardless of the level of dance, the most important thing is to leave room for dance entertainment.
If you’re looking for a new way to get fit, get out your dusty dancing shoes.