From aerobic health benefits to improved bone health, flexibility, and mental health, dancing can definitely offer a lot of advantages! Dancing can be so many things to many people: It’s been known as an expression of art, a fun hobby, or even great form of exercise. Dancing involves engaging all of your muscles, and it gets your heart pumping, and it can be a whole lot of fun. Could this be a workout you can look forward to? Well, that sounds good! The type of dance that you do can influence how intense of a workout it is, but pretty much any type of dance can be a workout.
Dancing Boosts Cardiovascular Health
Like other types of aerobic exercise, dancing is fantastic for improving your cardiovascular function. A study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that those who practiced moderate-intensity dancing (enough to make you out of breath or sweaty) were 46 percent less likely to develop heart disease than non-dancers, according to a survey of adults 40 years and older.
Dancing Builds Your Core Strength
Another health benefit of dancing is that it requires balance and helps build core strength. This helps to promote good posture and prevents muscle injuries as well as back pain, according to Mayo Clinic. Dancing can help you train the deep muscles in your body, which you may not work otherwise.
Dancing Promotes Flexibility
In addition to building your muscle strength, many forms of dance will stretch the limbs of your body, that will improve muscle flexibility. Improving both strength and flexibility will contribute to improved balance, which can help avoid falls and reduce the risk of injury as people get older.
Dancing Can Help With Weight Loss
Dancing is also a form of both aerobic and anaerobic exercise; that’s great for burning calories. Dancing involves various movements that are wonderful aerobic training, while still holding positions of balance that can turn on the anaerobic energy. Remember, the more up-tempo the dance, the more calories and energy will be burned. According to Harvard Medical School, Depending on the style of dance and your bodyweight, just 30 minutes of dancing can burn between 90 and 250 calories. This type of calorie burning activity can help support weight loss if you’re trying to take of some pounds.
Dancing is Good for Your Bones
Dancing is a type of weight-bearing activity, and unlike a biking or swimming, dancing can help to maintain bone density. High-impact and weight-bearing exercises, including forms of dance, can help you maintain and build new bone mass. Some research suggests that for older adults with osteoporosis, dancing can help reverse some of the damage caused by it.
Dancing Has Been Known to Help Prevent Memory Loss
As dancing often requires learning moves and routines, there is actually some good evidence that social dancing can reduce the risk of cognitive decline as we get older according to Carolyn Fredericks, MD, a neurologist at Yale Medicine. Out of all the physical activities, including walking, bicycling, and swimming, dancing was the only activity associated with a lower risk of dementia. It is recommended that older adults seek out aerobic exercise, social engagement, and a cognitive challenge — social dancing hits all three of these!
Dancing Promotes Good Mental Health & Reduces Stress
There is a lot of research out there that shows that dance can help decrease anxiety, increase self-esteem, and improve psychological well-being. Certain types of dance have even been used as treatment for depression! Have you ever had a tough day and cranked up your favorite music and danced around to blow off some steam? Any type of movement can help reduce stress, according to Mayo Clinic. But dancing can be particularly good for doing this.
Dancing Helps People Feel More Socially Connected
Feeling socially connect and personal interaction are important parts of mental and physical health. There’s a lot of research out there that shows feeling lonely or isolated can have many negative health effects.
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