Dancing for a Healthy Mind!

Hey people!

I love to dance and dancing makes me feel different about myself.

If you do not believe me, just stop what you are doing, play your favourite song and grove to it!

In 3-5 mins you can notice that you are feeling better .

Why? What is that dance has you feel different than before?

I am sure that most of us know how dance helps in maintaining a good physique and that's how dance fitness, Zumba and other dance-related exercises are trending. It can be one type of aerobic exercise that helps to stay healthy. An immense amount of researches show dance increases the heartbeat and helps to maintain cardiovascular health, increases flexibility, body posture, pumps up energy, reduces pain and stiffness, improves balance and co-ordination.

These are the physical benefits of dance, but dance contributes to mental health also. In this new age, mental health is given more prominence than before and more people started understanding that dance or any physical activity can contribute to a happy and healthy mind.

Dance and Mental Health

1. Mood enhancement

It's common knowledge that dance can make you feel happy. Most of the time people dance because they feel joyful or excited. In a study conducted to compare dance with other physical activities, it was shown dancing releases more endorphins than typical aerobic movement. Dancing is a better alternative to reduce cortisol levels which cause stress, leading to increased feelings of happiness and relaxation.

2. Reduce symptoms of mental illness Dance improves mood and can reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety. Studies show dance affects depression levels positively and decreases depression levels. Dance can increase the level dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, and endorphins, which help prevent anxiety and depression, improve sleep quality, and slow the ageing of the brain.

3. Boosts cognitive performance

A lot of research shows dancing can maintain and even boost our ability to think as we age.

According to the book Dance Cure, learning new dance routines and practising them can improve memory. Scientists have found that the areas of the brain that control memory and skills, such as planning and organising, improve with exercise like dance. A study among children shows that dance has a positive effect on children’s cognitive development.

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"Even if you are not that good, dancing frees the body to float along with the music, and to cast off stress. "

Byron Pulsifer 💃🏼

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5. Protect your memory

Learning new things, like different dance moves and dance styles, sharpen our brain’s ability to remember details. Constant practice of such movements is like a memory practice. This can help prevent dementia. Challenging the mind with new dance styles and complex movements is also a workout for the brain and helps in healthy ageing.

4. Improve self-esteem

Self-esteem can be defined as the overall subjective sense of personal worth or value. Learning and mastering new moves and skills through dance can improve your self-esteem and confidence. A study conducted among girls in Manchester showed that dance increases their self-perception about physical worth and attractiveness. A feeling of accomplishment also builds up after each class or dance course. Dr. Peter Lovatt explains how dance can empower and even emotionally influence the dancers and the audience.

6. Expressing Oneself

It is said that " body language speaks louder than words". Studies show that a message is conveyed 7% by the words and 93% by non-verbal cues. Dance is a way of self-expression and emotions are conveyed through different movements. Dance is used as a tool to express emotions and communicate feelings. Waacking (a form of street dance style) was developed to express freedom by the gay community. This makes dance different from other forms of physical exercises.

7. Make new friends

An Oxford University study suggests social bonding among people who dance, or move to music together increases. Social bonds improve long-term health as much as adequate sleep, a good diet, lower rates of depression and anxiety. Social connections can increase self-esteem, lower anti-social behaviour and even reduces suicidal behaviours. Read more.

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“Any kind of dancing is better than no dancing at all.”

Lynda Barr 🤸🏼‍♂

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How can you get these benefits?

These are only a few of the mental and physical benefits of dancing. So, how can you get the most out of dance? It's easy! Just play a piece of music that you like and dance to it. It's OK if you cannot make it to a dance class. If you think dancing alone is boring, just sign up for a dance class and then you will have someone to guide you while learning a dance form. Also, dancing in a group is more fun! Thanks to social media, now there are many opportunities to learn and perform dance routines online. But the thing that you have to keep in mind is, "enjoy the process". Don't push yourself too hard, that can have the opposite effect.

We can see that dance is good for health and dancing for health is a concept that is becoming more popular these days. Many countries started understanding the positive effects of dance and incorporating it in school, office and public spaces. One Dance UK, IADMS, DDMIX, Dr Dance are a few who try to promote dance for health and well-being worldwide. Making use of such opportunities can help you to improve yourself and have a healthy mind, especially during these hard times!

So what is stopping you from having a dance break?

Stay healthy..

Stay safe.