Move Freely: Dance Your Way to Well Being
(Estimated Reading Time: 2 minutes)
Dance is a favored physical activity practiced worldwide. Humans dance to retain cultural narratives, to win competitions in talent shows, to entertain mass audiences, as well as to have some fun within the comfort of their homes. While this is seen as a practice done mostly for storytelling or entertainment, it also has value elsewhere. Dancing, surprisingly, can be used to further one’s well-being. “How?” you may ask? The following are the many ways in which you can benefit from dance:
Dance can help slow certain effects of aging.
For those afraid of the effects that aging can cause to the body, dance helps alleviate some of these. In a study published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, researchers took note of previous studies showing how aerobics increase hippocampus volume (which relates to quality of memory and balance). By taking this into consideration, they launched their own research into comparing the effects of dance with the effects of traditional health fitness on both balance and hippocampal volume. Separating participants into either a dance-practicing group, or a traditional health fitness practicing group, the researchers had them to practice their group practice, and took measurements afterwards. It was found that while both groups had increase in hippocampus size, size was more increased within the dance group, with an additional increase in balance. [1]
Dance can help with weight loss.
For those looking to cut down on their weight, dance is one of the many things that can help. While this may be common sense, it’s important to confirm the science behind the idea. Luckily, there’s basis. Researchers in Japan gathered 60 participants to test whether low impact aerobics had an effect on weight, or no effect at all. The participants were divided into two groups, with one to practice aerobics, and another to practice jogging and cycling. It was found that within both groups, there was a significant reduction in both fat and body mass. While there were no significant differences between the results of the two exercises, the researchers concluded that, like jogging and cycling, low impact aerobics had just as a positive effect in reducing weight.[2]
Dance can have a positive effect on your mental health.
For those wanting to find a way out of the rut of depression, dance is one option. Researchers in Finland looked into this by gathering 109 participants to be apart of their study. These participants were divided into two groups that either received treatment-as-usual, or dance movement therapy combined with treatment-as-usual. Depression and distress indicators were found to have been largely reduced in the group who received dance movement therapy, compared to those who received treatment-as-usual alone. [3]
Sources:
1. Rehfeld, K., Müller, P., Aye, N., Schmicker, M., Dordevic, M., Kaufmann, J., Hökelmann, A., & Müller, N. G. (2017). Dancing or Fitness Sport? The Effects of Two Training Programs on Hippocampal Plasticity and Balance Abilities in Healthy Seniors. Frontiers in human neuroscience, 11, 305.
2. Shimamoto, H., Adachi, Y., Takahashi, M., Tanaka, K. (1998). Low impact aerobic dance as a useful exercise mode for reducing body mass in mildly obese middle-aged women. Appl Human Sci.;17(3):109-14.
3. Hyvönen, K., Pylvänäinen, P., Muotka, J., & Lappalainen, R. (2020). The Effects of Dance Movement Therapy in the Treatment of Depression: A Multicenter, Randomized Controlled Trial in Finland. Frontiers in psychology, 11, 1687.