I love to dance…it’s one place where I lose a certain self-consciousness, and just move to the rhythm of the music. People who learn and communicate most effectively through movement/doing are more likely to identify with this. But, truthfully, dancing is for everybody. Every body.
Everybody needs to move. To energize, diffuse, celebrate, express and connect. It’s GOOD for you–for a number of reasons–but don’t take my word for it. Check out, “Dancing Makes You Smarter”* by Richard Powers, which asserts that frequent dancing reduces the risk of dementia by 76%! How so? Something to do with neural plasticity, with the “rewiring of neural pathways” by making our brains perform complex functions, particularly things it doesn’t already know how to do.
“Dancing integrates several brain functions at once — kinesthetic, rational, musical, and emotional — further increasing your neural connectivity.” In the New England Journal of Medicine report on the relationship between participation in leisure activities and lowered risks of dementia it states, “Dancing was the only physical activity associated with a lower risk of dementia.”
Well, my brain has had a workout and I have not left my chair for several hours. Those who want to dive deeper into the study or learn more about dancing, be sure to check out the links within Mr. Powers’ article. The rest of you… chair dance?
Either way, have fun getting smarter.
*The link to “Dancing Makes You Smarter”:
moya 