DANCING- HOW IT HELPS OUR BRAIN?
Science of dancing
At home at a party or in the car dancing and letting loose to music is always fun it allows us to express ourselves have a good time and connect with others. But did you know that dancing is good for your health as well.
I am going to talk about the science of dancing. I will start with something that personally was surprising to me and that is about what dancing can do to the brain. In the deeper tissues of our brain there is the white matter it contains nerve fibres which are responsible for communicating between different regions of the brain this affects functions like the ability to process information learning and memory information. in the brain of a young person passes between the nerve cells at a fast speed but as we grow older go through natural processes of aging and it’s also happening in the brain as a result the white matter starts to fade if we scan the brain of adults usually we will see diluted white matter.
But in a study that compared 11 different types of physical activity scientists have found that among adults who started dancing there was an improvement in the Integrity of the white matter in brain. Why does it happen precisely when dancing in contrast to any other physical activities we do such as walking running exercise?
Dance poses many challenges to the brain. When we dance our brain has to be more alert and to deal with several activities at the same time such as listening and adjusting our movement to the rhythm of the music and to those who are dancing along with us maintaining balance while changing movement and Direction. Constantly continual planning for the next steps and sending commands to almost all the organs of body it forces the brain to communicate with itself and with the body make many decisions in real time. This process new neural pathways are created in the brain especially when we are learning new steps and it helps the brain work more efficiently strengthen memory and learning abilities a similar process happens when we learn a new skill or read a book
Dancing can usually reverse aging in the brain for example among adults dancing reduces the risk of getting Dementia by 76 percent but that’s not all the act of dancing also releases endorphins in the brain which are chemical signals that relieve pain improve mood increase feelings of well-being and pleasure decrease stress levels this explains the pleasant feeling we experience during and after dancing people who dance regularly were found to be happier smile more often have a stronger immune system and are generally healthier than those who don’t.
In addition dancing like any other physical activity is good for our health:
- It improves cardiopulmonary endurance
- Increases blood flow in the body and supplies oxygen to the brain and muscles but unlike other sports dancing activates many muscles that are rarely used in other physical activities
- An easier funnier and more enjoyable way to improve cognitive skills memory and learning abilities that work on almost every muscle in our body
- Help us lose weight in our new lifestyle most of us are too busy with work and everyday life we hardly have time left for hobbies.