You don’t have to be young or rich to enjoy the benefits of dance. And you certainly don’t have to move like Jagger!

Dancing is something that has been with us since the dawn of time. People are hardwired to get up and move when they hear a beat. It’s a universal phenomenon. Instinctual response to rhythm starts in the brain where musical vibrations light up timing circuits that result in movement.

Dancing is an excellent way to keep the mind, body and spirit healthy.

The cultures that really enjoy dancing, especially in a group, use it to escape from daily worries and relax.

If you notice, most of these cultures are not economically rich, at least according to the standards of western Europe or North America. Many come from Latin America or Africa. And they include people of all ages.

In the United States, dancing is slowly starting to go mainstream. In 2010, the Dizzy Feet Foundation created the first National Dance Day, aimed at getting more Americans to stand up and move.

I’ve been incorporating more dancing in my daily life. It’s one of the best forms of releasing stress. At the bottom, I’ve included some of my favorite songs on my playlist.

So, without any further ado, here they are…

10 Benefits of Dance That May Surprise You

1) “Improved Fitness Level” ~ Benefits of Dance

It’s no secret that dance is a legitimate source of cardio for weight loss. Combined with a great diet, this can make for a killer “pas de deux”.

Dancing involves using multiple muscle groups, helping to tone your whole body. According to a study by the Journal of Physiological Anthropology, aerobic dancing can be just as effective at weight loss as cycling and jogging.

Your heart rate will naturally increase when you first begin dancing. As time goes on, it will begin to stabilize and you will not have the feeling of being out of breath.

On average, a 150 pound (68kg) person burns 240 calories per hour when dancing. But that’s just the average. Depending on the type of dance, from slow dances like tango to fast ones like swing, you can burn anywhere from 200 calories to 350 calories.

The USDA cites dancing as a “moderate level” activity. It’s great to include dancing as part of your overall workout routine. Or to incorporate it on your days off.

If it’s calories that you’re looking to burn, Zumba may be your best bet. You can burn potentially 500+ calories per hour in that class!

2) “Greater Confidence” ~ Benefits of Dance

Dancing also drastically improves the situation in people that suffer anxiety. Our bodies can be misused through drinking, drugs, physical mutilation, excessive binging and other behaviors. Dancing provides a positive outlet for us to express ourselves through our body. That mind-body connection is unique to dance.

Dancing also helps improve self-confidence in body image. In one study, dancing showed the ability to improve “emotional eating” in obese women, who eat in response to stress. Participants noted statistically significant increases in psychological well being, body image and self-esteem.

Compared to other sports like playing tennis or football, dance consistently comes out on top with regards to reducing anxiety. It also comes out better when compared to other hobbies, like music or math class. Only dance significantly reduces anxiety. That’s pretty surprising!

The use of dance as therapy dates back to at least the Second World War. One of the pioneers of this form of therapy, Marion Chace, studied soldiers returning from the war with post-traumatic stress disorder. Dance therapy was used as a means of communication and decreased social isolation and tension in the body. The movement is what connects the mind to the body.

3) “Improved Social Skills” ~ Benefits of Dance

One of the benefits of dance is it’s a great way to meet new people. Whether you’re a seasoned dancer or an eager beginner willing to learn, dance provides you with ample opportunities to pair up.

It’s also great for those of us who are naturally shy. If you’re bashful about making chit chat with strangers, expressing yourself through dance is a healthy alternative. It naturally opens up conversations that may otherwise have been inhibited. And for the social butterflies, dance is a fantastic way to connect with others and show off those social skills. It may lead to finding your significant other. Or even a job position through networking.

4) “Combat Depression” ~ Benefits of Dance

Dancing forces you to be in the moment, focused totally on the music and your movement. Dance allows you to express yourself without talking, which is both physically and psychologically freeing. The music serves as a bridge between your thoughts and movement.

As such, it’s a great activity for teens and adults going through depression.

A study was conducted in Sweden monitoring adolescent girls with troubled childhood issues for eight months. Over this time period, dance classes were held twice weekly. At the end, the girls showed considerable improvement for one whole year following the study. A total of 91% of the girls rated the dance classes as a positive experience.

Active, energetic movement like dancing produces endorphins. Dance combines music and movement, both of which have been shown to be great stress releasers. In addition to triggering the release of endorphins, it also suppresses the excretion of cortisol (the stress hormone). This leaves you with a feeling not unlike that of a runner.

Scientists performed a meta-analysis on 27 studies covering the effects of Dance Movement Therapy and found significant reductions in depression and anxiety. Notably, they found positive correlations with DMT in body image, well-being and mood. The scientists concluded DMT should form part of an all-encompassing plan to treat these conditions.

5) “Improve Your Memory” ~ Benefits of Dancing

Dancing improves cognitive flexibility as we age. In other words, it keeps our mind sharp long into the waning years. Researchers have been searching for decades to find ways to improve memory in retirees. Only recent research has revealed that dancing may be the way to go.

Here is a study that showed improvement in memory for seniors between 60 to 80 years old. Dancing requires learning movements and remembering them, as opposed to other types of physical activity.

It incorporates several brain functions at once- kinesthetic, rational, musical, and emotional. It’s this increase in neural activity that helps prevent Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

6) “It’s As Effective as Cycling” ~ Benefits of Dance

Of course, no good regimen would be worth its credit if people didn’t want to follow it!

It turns out that people by and large want to dance as opposed to other activities with similar benefits. Dancing is more often than not a group activity. Peer support is a great motivator for most people to stick with it.

For example, in one study where tango was compared to mindfulness meditation, 97% of the respondents preferred a class of tango. Both activities were found to reduce depression, but only tango was also found to reduce stress.

In another study, waltzing was compared to traditional aerobic exercise like walking and cycling in heart failure patients. Waltzing was just as effective as the other activities in improving cardiovascular health.

Specifically, interval waltzing (slow-fast) improved heart and blood vessel function as much as the other forms of exercise. But one thing was peculiar. The test group in waltzing reported additional benefits that the others did not, such as improvement in sleep, mood, sex, and participating in hobbies.

7) “Balance and Coordination” ~ Benefits of Dance

Millions of adults and children each year injure themselves falling due to recreational activity or just lifestyle factors. Dancing is one of the best activities one can do to improve balance and thereby prevent those types of injuries.

In fact, dance can be summed up as just a series of balance tests.

It has been shown to improve balance among all age groups, especially among the elderly. These studies have examined diverse styles such as tango, jazz, ballroom and folk.

Improvements after just a few months of dance classes included increased walking speed, gait, and reaction time. It’s not unwise to assume these improvements can be made in nearly any dance style.

Dancing requires maintaining a strong center of gravity. As you gain flexibility and strength, your posture and spatial awareness increases.

One cautionary note: stretching is important before and after each dance session. This will gradually improve your flexibility and each stretch will become easier. Your muscles will lengthen and your range of movement will increase, further improving your dancing ability.

8) “Preventing Injury” ~ Benefits of Dance

The training that dancers receive in jumping can be used to prevent similar injuries in athletes. One example of this is an ACL tear.

Not only can you prevent injuries if you are an athlete, but you can also learn coordination to improve sport performance. Many people switch from aggressive sports activity to dancing as a safe alternative for daily exercise.

One study from the European Journal of Physical Rehabilitation showed that dance noticeably helped elderly patients suffering from Parkinson’s disease. The authors of the study noted that the benefits of dance met most, if not all, the recommended components of exercise programs designed to treat PD.

9) “Dancing as a Centenarian” ~ Benefits of Dance

Many of the cultures that live to extremely old age are an excellent example of the benefits of dance.

One such community is that of the Sardinians, recently marked a Blue Zone. Old people in this community dance all the way into their 100s and nobody is left out. It’s how the community stays together and strengthens cohesion.

Another Blue Zone community in Ikaria, Greece does the same thing. It too places a great importance on dancing into old age. And so too the Blue Zone in Costa Rica, ripe with centenarians. Dancing is an integral part of the Costa Rican elders. The article even mentions how eager a 108 year old lady is to get up and dance!

10) “Discover New Cultures” ~ Benefits of Dance

Dancing also provides you with the opportunity to discover music from other cultures.

Traditional Japanese dance: Here is one example, and here is another of different fast Japanese dances. Here is an example of a slow dance.

Japanese dance has a long history, passed down through the kagura tradition. Some of the more famous traditional dances include Kabuki, Noh Mai, Bon Odori, Nihon Buyo.

One which caught my eye was the “sparrow dance“, based on the fluttering movements of the Eurasian tree sparrow.

Indian dances

Here is one example of a classic Indian dance. Here is a modern dance.

There are at least eight recognized Indian traditional dances. They are mostly regional and date back to at least 200BC. The dances are generally sung in Sanskrit and exemplify a whole variety of clothes and physical expressions. The dances are an expression of spiritual ideas, virtues and the essence of scriptures. The intent is to liberate the soul both of the performer and the audience.

Spanish Flamenco

Here is an example of a Flamenco dance.

Flamenco comes from southern Spain with the oldest record of it dating back to 1774. But the origins of Flamenco are much older and based on the folk music of Andalusia. It was heavily influenced by the gypsy community. Flamenco is especially popular nowadays in the United States and Japan. Historians believe that the word “flamenco” originally derives from the Spanish word “flama”, meaning flame or fire. The dance is very fiery and bold and possibly took on this name as a proper description.

Cuban reggaeton

Here is a popular dancing group from Cuba specializing in reggaeton.

Reggaeton is a modern musical style that originated in Puerto Rico in the late 1990s. It’s heavily influenced by hip hop and Latin American music. The early part of reggaeton’s history is marked by its underground nature, avoiding the police and speaking about inner city life. Since the 2000s, it has gone mainstream. There really isn’t a developed dancing style for reggaeton, but it’s catchy rhythm and beat make it fun to move your body!

“My Recommendation” ~ Benefits of Dance

At this point you may be wondering what type of dance is right for me? Here are some of my recommendations…

Dance styles can vary in intensity (high or low impact, fast or slow), level of difficulty, genre of music, and solo or partner dances.

There are so many different types of dance, you should be able to find at least one style that fits your needs.

If you want a fast, upbeat style that’s great for calorie burning, you might want to try out tap dance or swing. On the opposite side of the spectrum, tango is slower and more reserved.

If you’re a beginning dancer, foxtrot may be the way to go. If you’re advanced, then quickstep may be more suitable.

Some of the Latin dances are perfect if you’re into flair and spice. Examples include salsa, rumba and mambo. Flamenco is also a great choice, as it’s naturally a passionate and fiery dance.

“Other Ideas” ~ Benefits of Dance

You may want to join a gym that offers fitness dance classes like Zumba. These types of dances involve heavy aerobic cardio. Other options may include dance studios that offer specialty classes in a variety of styles. These may include hip hop, Bollywood, or ballet. You could combine this with pilates that focuses on core exercises.

Also, be sure to check out meetup.com, which may have groups in your area that get together for dance. This is pretty common with tango “milongas”, salsa nights, and swing.

If you want to stick with dancing in your home, you might want to try out dancing games. Some of the better known ones are Dance Dance Revolution, Just Dance for Wii, and Gold’s Gym Workout.

“My Favorite Songs I’m Listening to Now” ~ Benefits of Dance

I absolutely love latin music. Everything from the rhythm, the culture, the dances, and the people!

Many of my favorites are in that genre. Here are just a few…

Reggaeton and Pop Latina

La Gozadera – Gente de Zona

Vacaciones – Wisin

La Bicicleta – Shakira, Carlos Vives

Reggaeton Lento – CNCO

Me Voy Enamorando – Chino & Nacho

El Amante – Nicky Jam

Felices los 4 – Maluma

Vente pa’ ca – Ricky Martin

Rumba

Le le lee – Centollito

Popurri la boda – Centollito

Older Latin Hits

La Ventanita – Garibaldi

La Bilirrubina – Juan Luis Guerra

Mi Gran Noche – Raphael

Maricarmen – La Pegatina

Mentirosa – Rafaga

A Quien Le Importa – Alaska y Dinamarca

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Hopefully, this article may inspire you to travel and live in another country!

So, I have a question for you…WHY DO YOU DANCE?

Sources:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/meaning-in-motion/201305/why-should-we-dance

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/06/08/health/health-benefits-of-dancing/index.html

http://www.berkeleywellness.com/fitness/active-lifestyle/article/many-health-benefits-dancing

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_traditional_dance

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_classical_dance

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flamenco

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reggaeton

http://www.smudailycampus.com/lifestyle/health/dancing-boosts-both-fitness-level-and-memory-capability