The Science of Dancing: What Happens in Our Brains When We Dance?
the dancing brain: the benefits of dancing.
What are the health benefits 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?
So, in today’s video we are gonna 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 fibers, which are responsible for communicating between different regions of the brain. this affects brain 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, we go through natural processes of aging, and it’s happening also in the brain, as a result, the white matter starts to fade, if we scans 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 the brain.
But 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 other organs of the body, it forces the brain to communicate with itself and with the body and make many decisions in real time, in 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, similar process happens when we learn a new skill or read a book. dancing can actually reverse aging in the brain, for example among adults - dancing reduces the risk of getting dementia by 76%, But that's not all...
The act of dancing also releases endorphins in the brain, which are chemical signals that relief pain, improve mood, increase feelings of well-being and pleasure, and 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.
I can’t think about an easiest, funniest, and more enjoyable way, to improve cognitive skills, memory and learning abilities, that work on almost every muscle in our body, and help us lose weight.
In our western lifestyle most of us are too busy with work and everyday life, we hardly have time left for hobbies, personally, I try my best to live a healthy lifestyle, engage in sports, eat healthy, read books, as much as I can, but I really didn't know that dance could have so many benefits for the body and mind, I thought it was just for fun, But I'm willing to practice it, and I invite you to do that too! Try to commit to dancing at least an hour a week, even at home. after all, it’s like going to the gym with a book!
That’s it for today, let me know what you think in the comments down below, don't forget to like and subscribe to the channel. thank you and stay tuned.
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15 янв 2023