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8 Reasons Why Dancing Benefits You

By Diane Hanson

Dancing has always been a part of my life. It's not only relaxing, but also a great way to stay physically active, no matter your age or size. If you find it very hard to fit an exercise routine into your busy and hectic lifestyle or if you're looking for a fun way to stay fit, why not take up dancing and dance your way to good health?

Dancing offers a host of attractive health benefits – physical, mental and social – that's simply hard to refuse.

Health Benefits of Dancing

Dance requires constant movement, and it involves everything from cardio and strength training to balance and control. The low impact dance movements strengthen your joints and bones, reducing the risk of sprains, fractures and arthritis later in life. Dancing also help in the prevention of osteoporosis, which is a major concern among post-menopausal women.

Dance exercises the whole body. It benefits your cardiovascular system and increases your lung capacity. It also tones and tightens many major muscle groups such as your quads, glutes and abs. Hence it can also be a great substitute for a cardiovascular gym workout when done regularly.

Dancing encourages gentle bending and stretching of your arms, legs and torso, thus increasing your flexibility. It also contributes to good posture and body alignment.

Dancing helps in weight loss. A half hour of fast, high energy dancing such as salsa, cumbia, or merengue can burn anywhere between 200 and 400 calories. One determining factor of how many calories you'll burn is distance. In one study, researchers attached pedometers to square dancers and found each person covered nearly five miles in a single evening!

That's not all, dancing is said to help control high blood pressure, diabetes, cholesterol, and reduce risk of heart disease.

Aside from its physical benefits, dancing also works wonders as a stress and tension reducer. Too much stress in your life can lead to an array of health problems; dancing lifts your mood by raising your endorphins levels and thus increases the sense of well-being.

Swinging and swaying to the music also helps some people sleep better. The American Heart Association reported that regular waltzing significantly improved the quality of life for those with chronic heart failure.

Dancing usually involves cognitive activities such as learning and memorizing complicated dance steps, concentrating on the music rhythm, and working with your partner, all of which will strengthen and exercise your brain. A recent published study found that people who ballroom dance at least twice a week are less likely to develop dementia.

In addition to that, dancing gives you the opportunity to mix and mingle, and meet up with new people. Having strong social ties is associated with better health, higher self-esteem and a positive outlook.

Last but not least, dancing makes you happy. Happy people are healthier and they live longer. So, put on your dancing shoes and dance your way to good health!

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