Have you ever slept in really late on a Sunday morning? I bet it felt great at the time, but then you were sluggish and tired throughout the day. It’s those days when you wake up early and go for a run that leave you feeling like you can climb Mount Everest! Well, a lot of people don’t know this, but the same is true for your brain. Sir Isaac Newton said, “An object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion…” Basically, what he was saying was quite simple: keep moving! The more active you are, the more active you'll stay. For example, the more you work out, the better you feel and the more energy you have throughout the day. The brain is like a muscle: the more you use it, the stronger it gets. In fact, studies have shown that dancing has been shown to reduce the risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s in adults.
21 years ago a study was done by the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City to see if any physical or cognitive activities had an influence on mental acuity. They had a group of people, 75 and older, perform a variety of activities such as reading books, writing for pleasure, doing crossword puzzles, playing tennis or golf, swimming, biking, and dancing. It came as no surprise that reading and doing crossword puzzles reduced the risk of dementia by 35-47%, but what did come as a surprise was that almost none of the physical activities appeared to offer any protection at all. There was only one exception: the only physical activity to offer a defense against dementia and Alzheimer’s was…..DANCING!!!! The study showed that dancing frequently reduced the risk by 76%! Far more than any other activity tested. Plus the more you dance, the better it works!
You may be asking, why is dancing better than other activities for keeping your brain sharp? And is all dancing created equal or are some styles better than others? Researches found that dancing works so well because it requires split-second rapid-fire decision making. Dancing integrates multiple brain functions at once: kinesthetic, rational, musical, and emotional. So, you are using several parts of your brain at the same time. As a leader you constantly have to stay focused, thinking about what move you’re going to dazzle your lady with next. As a follower you have to stay sensitive and alert, always ready to react to whatever step your partner takes next, or you run the risk of getting your cute new open-toed pumps trampled on.