When you decide to dance at home alone or with someone, keep in mind the benefits that we mention here. You will surely do it more often.
Dance is a universal language that we have all practiced at some point in our lives, whether following some choreography, with the steps of some Colombian musical rhythm or simply because we let the body be carried away by the sound.
Whether the rhythm chip is installed or not, dancing is part of the natural nature of the human being, because according to the Psychology and Mind portal: “In 2009, the Hungarian psychologist István Winkler demonstrated that people are born with a rhythmic-musical sense, which makes the desire to move to the rhythm of music an innate capacity of human beings.” However, this does not mean that everyone in the world likes it or feels comfortable doing it.
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And, that’s fine. The important thing is that everyone, regardless of age, taste or gender, knows the well-being that comes with regularly performing this exercise.
Which are?
1. Connect with yourself
The movement of the body awakens emotions, allows us to channel feelings, sensations and moods that consciously or unconsciously inhabit our mind. If we feel liberated when doing so, we will know that in the future we can resort to dancing to have greater emotional control on a daily basis.
It also allows us to connect and relate to others, sometimes without having to say a single word. Even in a pandemic from empathy and the desire to carry out a different activity through a screen.
2. Improves mood
Dancing is a distraction that helps the mind defocus from the problems and worries that arise in everyday life. In this way, negative thoughts disappear or decrease, stress and tension are reduced, but joy is induced, vitality, motivation and enthusiasm for life increase.
In 2005, the Korean Journal of Neuroscience published a study that found that dance movement therapy, in adolescents with mild depression, regulated stress by reducing dopamine levels and improved mood by increasing serotonin levels.
3. Strengthens self-esteem and security
Taking part in some dance classes, even virtually, allows you to lose your shyness and overcome your fear of doing a group activity. It also helps with self-confidence because by mastering a new step or dance rhythm, confidence increases and carries over to other aspects of life.
4. Increase mental agility and help with decision making
The concentration and attention required to memorize dance steps provides key mental challenges for maintaining mental agility and brain health.
Some studies, such as that of Peter Lovatt, director of the Dance Psychology Laboratory at the University of Hertfordshire, prove that dancing helps with decision-making. Because? Improvisation in dance prepares us to better deal with problems that have multiple solutions and learning precise and structured movements exercises our thinking for problems with a single answer or solution.
5. Develop creativity
When we allow our body to flow with the music we let the brain work freely and advance along new paths, new solutions, alternative routes, testing and releasing some of the knots of thought.
6. Reduces the risk of dementia
By practicing this exercise, you can reverse the loss of volume of the hippocampus, a key brain structure for memory, which over the years shrinks and causes memory problems, triggering dementia. In this way, the brain is protected in the long term.
This was proven by a study carried out by scientists at the Albert Einstein School of Medicine in New York, in which one of their experts, the gerontologist, Joe Verghese, explained that they compared dancing with other activities that stimulate the brain, such as practicing some sport, riding a bicycle or walking.
According to their results, while crossword puzzles reduce the risk of dementia by 47%, frequent dancing reduces it by up to 76%. In conclusion, they reported that dancing is one of the best remedies against brain aging.