Grab a Partner and Dance: Here’s How It Can Grow Your Brain

Grab a Partner and Dance: Here’s How It Can Grow Your Brain

Dancing is a unique activity and one of the best group exercises for you socially, mentally and physically.

Country line dancing, aerobics class, zumba: dance offers many outlets for exercise that are great ways to get off the couch.

But what does it do for you, especially in groups, that going for a run or jumping on the elliptical machine can’t?

There are a variety of benefits. Dancing can reverse the signs of aging, a study published in the open-access journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience in 2017 claims. It does so even more than other physical activities, as participants are often forced to recall specific routines under time constraints, making your brain really work.

Related: Dance Therapy Helps Patients Deal With Chronic Pain

Dancing also increases the white matter in your brain and improves coordination. And it forces you to socialize a bit. A study done by the American Osteopathic Association found that exercising in groups lowered participants’ stress levels more than solo activities, like running, as a network of friends can develop providing feedback and reinforcement.

Being with a group can motivate you to come back for more and researchers from Saint Louis University Medical Center sa, which is great when it comes to staying healthy.

And for older adults, it can also reduce hip and knee pain, something many seniors are seeking.

Of course, if getting your groove on with a crowd isn’t for everybody. If it really isn’t your thing, feel free to sit out. The Cha-cha-cha may be fun but we’re all permitted our own personal preferences.

If exercising in a group sounds attractive though, and the thought of dancing doesn’t make you roll your eyes, fold your arms and sit back while someone else does it, it could be a positive thing to consider. Science is here to back you up.

Photo credits: Val Thoermer/Shutterstock.com

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