Just Dance

This weekend, our school's homecoming dance took place. And speaking of dancing, surely people are aware that dancing is great exercise and burns a great amount of calories, but do you know about the other great health benefits to dance? It is a great stress reliever, increases memory and has plenty of other great benefits.

Dancing does, believe it or not, improves your memory and decreases your chances of memory loss as you age. The aerobic exercise reduces volume loss in the hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for memory. As we age, the hippocampus often shrinks, leading to memory loss. If dancing can reduce the shrinking, your chances for memory loss are lower or it may occur later in your life than it would have had you not gotten extra aerobic exercise.

Dancing also reduces your risk for heart disease. Studies show that dancing is even better for your heart than running/walking on a treadmill or cycling. Also, people with congestive heart failure that took dance lessons showed to have better quality of life results as well as slightly better mood and sleep.

Another health benefit to dancing is that it increases energy levels and physical performance in teenagers and adults. Dancing is considered aerobic and if you make it a routine, it can get you into really good shape. Therefore, you will have more energy during the day and you will be more athletic so your physical performance will also improve. 

Lastly, dancing is a social event, whether being a school dance or a dance class. Meeting new people and making new friends improves your health by increasing your happiness, relieving stress, and creating a stronger immune system.

There are also other benefits to dancing such as an increase in flexibility, stress relief, a decrease in depression, and better posture. It also burns calories and helps you lose weight. I encourage students to attend their school dances and teens and adults to enroll in a dance class and/or just dance around your house. You will be amazed by how much it improves your mood and makes your day better.