We all seem to need a night out every now and then. And for some, a good night out involves dancing! Whether at a club, concert, bar, or formal dance class, a good dance party can last for hours.
No doubt, the opportunity to let loose, and just get lost in the music can feel amazing after a stressful week. But did you know that cutting a rug can also be genuinely good for your health and longevity? Here are just a few of the many reasons why shaking and shimmying benefits your health.
Cardio Made Fun
It doesn’t matter what dance moves you are sporting – shaking your stuff is a great low-impact cardio workout that burns calories. Done routinely, dancing can improve cardiovascular health, increase stamina, strengthen bones and muscles, and stave off illnesses. In addition, dancing can target more areas of fitness than cardio workouts like cycling or running, which often focus on endurance. Specifically, dancing can increase your flexibility, balance, agility, coordination, and reactivity. But to count as true cardio, all the dances can’t be slow ones. Experts of exercise physiology recommend that you aim for an exertion level of five to seven on a scale of ten (ten being the hardest you can do!) with each of your dance numbers. (1, 2)
A Mental Health Boost
With incredible songs and friends nearby, dancing can feel amazing to the soul. Research shows dancing can particularly improve your mental health by raising your overall level of happiness and diminishing stress. Feel-good hormones like serotonin and endorphins are released while you’re out there busting a move, and help you leave the dance floor feeling happier. For instance, have you ever noticed how hard it is to stop smiling after you have hit a dancing stride? (1, 2, 3)
Keeps The Mind Sharp
A study from the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine revealed that getting onto a dance floor on a regular basis is linked with a 76 percent reduction in dementia risk. This reduction in risk was similar to study participants who reported playing board games, or a musical instrument. (1, 4) Another study explained these findings by showing life-long dancers had more white matter in their brains, which increases the speed of thinking and improves problem-solving abilities. These results make sense when you consider how hard it is to remember a dance routine! (5)
Still not sold on dancing? You may be self-conscious about your moves. But in reality, anyone can dance with no equipment and often at a low or no cost. Try out a few moves I the privacy of your home – use YouTube videos and build your confidence from there. Dancing may also be a more effective form of exercise, as people are more likely to stick with fitness routines if they are having fun. Fabio Comana, an exercise physiologist and education team member for the National Academy of Sports Medicine, told HuffPost, “Dance inspires people to get in shape with something they love to do, which doesn’t feel like dreaded exercise or a bad chore, but fun and exhilarating.” (1)
