There are so many reasons why dancing is good for you. It’s hard to decide where to start. It’s a lot of fun and healthy for the body as well as the mind. In addition to being a good form of exercise and having a truly positive effect on our health, a recent study has also found that it also makes us smarter (something to do with remembering the dance moves, exercising the brain).
So, what can dance to your body? Here are the benefits:
Benefits of dance
Whether you’re 80 years old or 8 years old, doing a physical activity involving dance transforms you.
From better physical and mental health to an improvement in emotional and social well-being, moving your body to the sound of music will improve your life.
Physical Benefits of Dancing
Dance is exercise, so dancing’s physical benefits would be similar to those of other cardio exercises.
1. Improves balance and strength
One of the reasons that dance is such a good form of physical fitness is that it incorporates movements on all planes of motion and all directions.
Movements that we usually do in our everyday lives, including walking, taking the stairs, and traditional exercises including treadmills and spinning, occur in the sagittal plane. But dance works from all planes, both lateral and rotational, flip all muscles on and prepares them. Not only does this form of movement increase strength, but it also improves balance.
2. Improves cardiovascular health
The heart-pumping health benefits of dance are consistent with the guidelines for physical exercise of the Department of Health and Human Services for adults. It states that adults should do the following:
- At least 150 minutes to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise each week, or
- 75 minutes to 150 minutes a week of vigorous aerobic physical exercise
All dance styles do great cardio workouts because various movements challenge the heart rate.
3. Dancing helps with losing weight
If you’re trying to drop a few pounds by dance, make sure to pick a style that needs intense movement — put your all into it, and do it regularly. Dancing will also help you reach the recommended target of at least 10,000 steps a day, which will help you keep your weight in check. One research showed that those taking part in a square dance had travelled the equivalent of five miles in one night.
4. Dancing strengthens bones
Dancing is a pleasurable way to enhance bone mass and boost muscle strength. It can be highly effective for those at risk of low bone density. Some dance moves, especially those that move you from side to side, improve the strength of your tibia, femur, and other leg bones — which carry much of your body’s weight. By building up your bone mass, you can eliminate or slow down the progression of osteoporosis.
Mental Benefits of Dancing
1. Challenges your brain
If you’ve ever tried tap dancing, then you know just what we mean by dancing to your brain.
Tylicki points out that the brainpower you need to access for dance, in particular, requires you to concentrate on both the constant changing in movement and the memory of movements and patterns.
This is an outstanding form of mental exercise for the mind, regardless of your age.
2. Boosts cognitive performance
If you need a reason to move, consider dancing. A lot of research shows how dance can maintain and even improve your capacity to think as you age.
But how is this going to happen? Well, according to some reports, scientists have found that brain regions that control memory and abilities, such as planning and scheduling, improve with exercise like dance.
Plus, unlike other types of exercise, dance has the additional advantage of improving balance through rhythm and music.
3. Dance as a form of depression reduction
According to one report, during recreation dance sessions. Patients treated with depression have shown a measurable reduction in their depression. Similarly, in a number of other non-clinical trials, When placed in a 12-week dance and activity program, teens diagnosed with mild to severe depression also showed reduced levels of depression.
Emotional Benefits of Dancing
1. Helps boost your mood
Movement and dance are extremely expressive, helping you to escape and let loose. Dancing helps strengthen mental and emotional health by decreasing stress, reducing signs of anxiety and depression, and improving self-esteem.
2. Can be a social activity
While you would prefer to bust a dance when no one is watching, there’s something incredible about dancing with others.
When you’re in a ballroom or a belly dance class, dancing with friends, or shaking with your kids or grandchildren, being around other people while dancing is good for your social and emotional health.
3. Is inclusive
One of the best things about dancing is that everyone can be part of it. When you can move, and if it’s just your upper body, you can dance.
This equalizer makes dance so popular for people who usually shy away from other forms of exercise.
Benefits for kids
Now you can understand that dance is just as much an exercise as an art. Let’s take a look at the health effects for kids.
- It encourages neurological development: When a child loves music and learns to dance to its beats, it stimulates the brain. This increases their cognitive abilities and their neurological health.
- Dancing keeps your child fit: Your child will boost their endurance, strength and energy by dancing. It also promotes muscle strength and growth. Let’s not forget that it’s cardio because it makes their hearts healthy.
- Your kid will carry themselves better: Dance is perfect for your spine. Dancers are taught how to manage their bodies to carry their weight optimally. If your child learns to dance, his or her posture will improve. They’re not going to slouch, and their back, shoulders, spine, and bones are going to benefit.
- Your child will be motivated and inspired: As in any other sport or practice, your child will learn to persevere. One often-overlooked factor is that dancing can teach your child to learn from their mistakes and keep going. This, in itself, is a booster of confidence.
- Dance is fun: It sounds cheesy, but wouldn’t you have your child in a dance class rather than waste away in front of a TV? Or are you dropping in with the wrong crowd? Kids don’t want to get bored. The dance will boost the mood of your child.
The bottom line
Dancing benefits include all aspects of wellness, including physical, mental and emotional. Not only does it give you a chance to express yourself and have fun, but it also counts for the week’s minutes of cardiovascular exercise.
So, catch a friend, join a beginner or an intro class, and carry on!
