{"id":3745,"date":"2018-05-07T16:20:44","date_gmt":"2018-05-07T21:20:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/innovativehomecare.com\/?p=3745"},"modified":"2020-12-07T16:34:31","modified_gmt":"2020-12-07T22:34:31","slug":"7-health-benefits-of-dancing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.innovativehomecare.com\/staging\/8503\/7-health-benefits-of-dancing\/","title":{"rendered":"7 Health Benefits of Dancing"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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They say you should dance like no one\u2019s watching, and that\u2019s actually good advice. Whether you\u2019re dancing at a club, or in the shower, or in your living room, there are many reasons to dance when you\u2019re grabbed by the rhythm.<\/p>

Berkeley University of California notes that dance can have many benefits for people of all ages, even for those who have nervous system diseases that can limit or complicate motor skills. So whether you prefer to tango, breakdance, or foxtrot, strap on those dancing shoes and take yourself or a partner for a spin. Here are seven health benefits of Dancing.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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1. Reduces Depression and Anxiety<\/strong><\/h2>

Dancing is exercise, and exercise releases endorphins that are your body\u2019s \u201cfeel-good\u201d hormone. A relatively recent study posted on ScienceDirect notes that not only do subjects of dance movement therapy benefit by decreasing anxiety and depression. They also developed a more positive body image.<\/p>

Another\u00a0study\u00a0from the National Centre for Biotechnology Information looked at the effects of Argentine tango dancing on depression compared to mindfulness meditation. While the study concluded that both methods reduced depression, stress levels were only significantly reduced in the dance participants.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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2. Keeps Dementia Away<\/strong><\/h2>

A 2013 article in Psychology Today explains that dancing \u201cdramatically reduces\u201d the chances of developing dementia and Alzheimer\u2019s disease. Both can affect cognitive skills, memory, social skills and the ability to complete simple daily tasks. Alzheimer\u2019s can be deadly due to the loss of functions.<\/p>

However, the article pointed out there\u2019s a catch\u2014only \u201cfreestyle\u201d (not choreographed) dancing has these preventative benefits because it requires quick thinking that keeps your brain\u2019s neural pathways strong. The article said that \u201cfrequent\u201d freestyle dancing can reduce dementia by up to 76-percent.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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3. Improves Heart Function<\/strong><\/h2>

It\u2019s possible to dance your heart out while helping your heart at the same time. Berkeley University explained that even people with stable chronic heart failure will benefit from dancing the waltz as much as a moderate-paced aerobic exercise routine.<\/p>

The university noted that dancing improved heart and blood vessel function, as well as the overall quality of life. It\u2019s not just a waltz (ballroom dancing) that can benefit your heart. Any dance that speeds up your heart rate is good, such as salsa dancing, Zumba and even square dancing. But dance the way you want to. Dancing is beneficial for your health regardless of the style.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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4. Burns More Calories<\/strong><\/h2>

You might be struggling to get up early in the morning before work to go for a jog to burn off that chocolate ice cream from the night before. But the truth is you don\u2019t really need to drag yourself outside in the cold at the break of dawn. Cosmopolitan magazine lists dancing as one of 11 exercises that are comparable or better than jogging for calorie-burning benefits.<\/p>

If you\u2019re counting calories, then Cosmo notes that \u201caerobic dance\u201d can burn 443-calories or more per hour, compared to 557-calories an hour for running. However, that\u2019s based on maintaining a 6-mile per hour pace for an hour, which is probably not as fun to you as shaking it out with friends to your favorite tunes.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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5. Improves Balance<\/strong><\/h2>

If you suffer from dizziness when you stand up too quickly, you may be able to correct the problem with dancing. Psychology Today notes in a 2013 blog that those prone to dizzy spells (including the elderly) can benefit from dance. And explains that the brain structure of professional ballet dancers is actually different from the average brain from years of training.<\/p>

However, the blog assures that you don\u2019t need to be a pro to get the benefits. This is backed up by a\u00a0study<\/a> posted on the National Centre for Biotechnology Information website. They found that subjects aged 58 to 68 taking part in dance-based training showed significant improvement in their balance compared to a group that not engage in physical activity. It also noted dance can be a tool to prevent falls in the elderly.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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6. Boosts Your Libido<\/strong><\/h2>

A 2012 article in Huffington Post said exercise is an effective way to increase your sex drive for middle-aged men. Not only will exercise (dance was listed as one of the best ways to get it) help men prone to diabetes lose weight. It will help boost testosterone levels and dramatically reduce hypogonadism which is linked to erectile dysfunction and disinterest in making love.<\/p>

More good news for those looking to kickstart their love life. That is the article says that the men in the study only needed to exercise for 2.5-hours per week (as well as improve their diet) saw big improvements over the course of a year. It also notes that losing fat in the abdomen can increase blood flow to the penis, which is a bonus to you and your partner.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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7. Improves Social Connectivity<\/strong><\/h2>

While dancing is an activity you can definitely do alone but is even more fun when you have people around you sharing in the experience. WorldHealth.net<\/a> posted an article in 2009 that stated \u201csocial dancing\u201d has benefits for seniors, as it \u201cleads to continued engagement with life.\u201d Social isolation can lead to depression and even TIME magazine notes that being \u201chighly social\u201d can cut the risk of dementia by 70-percent.<\/p>

The World Health article goes on to say that dancing gives seniors an activity to focus on and something to look forward to on a regular basis. Dancing is a great way to cross barriers and connect different types of people. Bringing them together towards a common goal. Not only that, the article explains that it can prevent symptoms of aging such as aches and pains.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

They say you should dance like no one\u2019s watching, and that\u2019s actually good advice. Whether you\u2019re dancing at a club, or in the shower, or in your living room, there are many reasons to dance when you\u2019re grabbed by the rhythm. Berkeley University of California notes that dance can have many benefits for people of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":5996,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3745","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-helpful-resources"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.innovativehomecare.com\/staging\/8503\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3745","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.innovativehomecare.com\/staging\/8503\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.innovativehomecare.com\/staging\/8503\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.innovativehomecare.com\/staging\/8503\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.innovativehomecare.com\/staging\/8503\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3745"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.innovativehomecare.com\/staging\/8503\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3745\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12078,"href":"https:\/\/www.innovativehomecare.com\/staging\/8503\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3745\/revisions\/12078"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.innovativehomecare.com\/staging\/8503\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5996"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.innovativehomecare.com\/staging\/8503\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3745"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.innovativehomecare.com\/staging\/8503\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3745"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.innovativehomecare.com\/staging\/8503\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3745"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}