Dancing for your health

Dancing for your health

Dancing for your health

Dancers know that social dancing is fun and a great opportunity to meet new people. But it's also a great opportunity to take care of your health. Dancing, especially the faster dances that increase your heart rate, help keep your body and even your mind running at optimum levels. So if you've ever needed an excuse to dance, here are a few that should get you, and keep you, on the dance floor.

1. Dancing is a great cardio workout - and does wonders for all aspects of your life. Depending on the dance style you're doing you can burn an average of 250-450 calories per hour and keeps your heart rate up to aerobic levels. Faster dances like swing, Charleston, salsa, and cha-cha can increase that to an average of 500-650 calories per hour. So don't sit out! Dance as many dances as you can! Not only will you improve your dance skills but you'll keep your heart healthy. The Mayo Clinic has conducted a few studies on exercise and it's been shown that exercise does so much more for you that just provide a great cardio workout. Regular exercise can lower your risk for chronic diseases, help you sleep better, and so much more. They've just proven what we've known for a while - that dancing is a wonderful addition to anyone's life.

2. Dancing helps build and maintain bone mass. Dancing is great for your heart and lungs, but did you know that it's also great for your joints, too? Humans have such a difficult adjusting to life in zero gravity because we need regular physical impact to promote new bone growth. Dancing is gentler than something like running, but still provides enough impact for bone maintenance in your weight bearing bones (tibula, tibia, and femur bones). The regular movement can also help maintain your joints and keep them loose and flexible, and can prevent or lessen the effects of arthritis. Studies at the Mayo Clinic have shown that the worse thing you can do for arthritis is to stop moving as it causes the joints to lose the movement that they already have. And, as we age, the old adage of "move it or lose it" becomes more true. Those who are consistently active tend to lead longer, healthier and more productive lives.

3. Dancing is also a great workout for your brain. Learning new dance steps works your brain in ways that we don't always use in our daily lives. Thanks to technology we're a lot more dependent on our mobiles and PDAs to remember things that we once committed to memory. Learning to dance any type of dance forces you to work on your memorization skills, your coordination, and balance, all of which deteriorate as we age. Learning new steps on the dance floor will help keep you sharp as you age (and will make you the coolest grandparent ever).

4. Dancing is fun!

Studies are also showing that our bodies and minds are intertwined in ways that we can't even begin to fathom. But doctors do agree that stress can wreak havoc with our bodies. Dancing, especially if it's your joy (or, as I refer to it, as "my happy") can lower stress and reduce the risk for heart attack and stroke. Dancing is a wonderful way to forget your cares and worries for a few hours so that when you return to your "normal" life you're happier, more relaxed, and more equipped to deal with whatever life throws your way. I know that my co-workers can all tell when I've been dancing - I come into work a lighter person, often practicing new steps when I'm waiting for coffee, I can't stop smiling and I am just that more pleasant to be around. It actually got to the point that if my boss sees my shoulders starting to creep towards my ears with tension she tells me that she "hopes I'm going dancing tonight."

Check out ATOMIC Ballroom's list of classes and dance schedules to get yourself on the dance floor and on the road to better health.

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