When was the last time you danced your heart out?
Whether you’re 7 or 70, dancing will always be a fun exercise.
Try to remember the rush you get from dancing. From weddings and late-night parties to Zumba classes – moving and shaking your body is not just a killer workout session but also great for your mood and overall well-being.
Now we know! We totally get it. You work a lot. You are getting home too late for these fun activities. You have work and family. And they are your life. You would definitely feel silly dancing at the age you are at. You are already so tired. If you had to do some physical activity, you would rather prefer running or swimming. Right?
We agree you might look a little weird dancing at your age. And we also agree that you have a thousand other things to care about rather than dancing.
But trust us when we say that dancing can help you feel relieved, content, and relaxed in a way nothing else can.
To help you affirm/reaffirm your faith in dancing for your all round well-being, let’s dive deeper into the benefits of dance for mental health and physical fitness.
Physical Health Benefits Of Dance
Dancing is a great full-body workout. It allows you to use every essence of your body. If practiced regularly, dancing can do wonders for your body. Keep in mind that if dancing is your only physical activity, try to practice for at least 30 minutes a day.
To get you charged, let’s look into the physical health benefits of dance:
1. Cardiovascular Benefits
As per the Centres for Disease Control (CDC), heart problems are one of the top reasons for death in the US. This means cardiovascular health must be a principal priority for everyone. Anyone who rehearses dance would know their cardiovascular endurance increases with time, keeping their heart healthy. A research by Dafna Merom and team found that regularly practicing medium-intensity dancing can lead to a decreased risk of death due to heart problems. And this effect is much more pronounced for dancing than for walking.
2. Improves Flexibility
Having flexible joints and muscles is essential for avoiding daily injury. Dancing helps in relaxing your muscles and, in turn, makes you flexible. It soothes your body’s stiffness, enabling you to perform various day-to-day activities that your body would want to do without any worry.
A research team led by M Alricsson found that the cross country skiers who underwent months of dance training showed quality improvements in their agility and flexibility.
In another similar study, cross country skiers undergoing pre-season dance training had reduced risk of back pain and enhanced spine flexibility.
Despite the skiing mentioned in these studies, you don’t necessarily have to hit the slopes to reap the benefits. Grooving to your favorite piece of music would be enough!
3. Improves Balancing And Coordination
Navigating through the dancefloor requires balance and coordination. With practice, both of these skills get improved through dance.
Starting dancing at a young age would help you polish the skill of balancing from a young age, and you could even build stability in your body that can help you gain better control in the long run.
4. Helps In Weight Loss
Dance burns calories. When you do Zumba or any other kind of dance form, your body does a lot of movements that burn calories. An average person can burn up to 300-800 calories per hour of dancing. Dancing helps in maintaining your cholesterol levels. Ball dance which requires mind and body engagement, is known for its practical cholesterol-reducing benefits.
Mental Health Benefits Of Dance
Dance offers a range of physical health benefits, but apart from these, there are many benefits of dance for mental health and your brain.
Let’s look deeper into the benefits of dance for mental health:
1. Reduces Stress
Dancing is a fantastic stress buster. It helps to uplift your mood and reduce stress by distracting your mind and focusing on the music and movements. If you feel stressed, anxious, or depressed, just dance it out!
You don’t have to be flawless at it. Just move your body and try different steps as per the rhythm and music, and you will see your stress flying away.
2. Fun And Social Practice
Dancing is a great place to enjoy and have fun. It is where you can make new friends while developing your skills.
When dancers shred their distractions and clear their minds, they can communicate more effectively with others. This transparent communication can help you to socialize effectively.
3. Improves Self-Esteem
Self-esteem is the amount of respect and value that you show to yourself.
When you learn to dance, it increases your self-esteem. Learning new steps and movements can make you proud of yourself. It will simply depict that you can also learn and master the art of dance, increasing your self-esteem and confidence.
4. Decreases risk of several disorders:
It’s not just us who say this. A small but fast-growing group of research says that the benefits of dance for mental health are more than any other type of cardio exercise.
Dancing of almost any kind has been found to alleviate symptoms of anxiety and
chronic pain. In another study by Mehibe Akandere, dancing was associated with lowering depression among college students.
Although the studies on Alzheimer’s and dance therapy are still limited, there are positive signs. As per a research affiliated with the University of Almería, dancing was found to improve the quality of life among people having Alzheimer’s and Dementia. The activity brought social, emotional, physical, and cognitive improvement among people with dementia.
So the next time you feel anxious, angry, or lonely — try dancing!
Tips On Using Dance For Your Mental Well-Being
You can dance anywhere. Try many different styles and steps to know what suits you the best. Whether alone or in a group, making it up on the spot or making a daily routine can enhance your mood and benefit your mental well-being.
Following are some tips to enhance the benefits of dance for mental health:
1. Set Up A Routine
Teach yourself new steps if you want to challenge yourself and enhance your dancing skills. Learn to dance to a song that is choreographed by someone else. Set up your daily routine and try to stick to it.
2. Take A Dance Class
If you want to interact with others and create social connections, enroll yourself in a dance studio or some virtual dance sessions. Joining a dance community will not only help you to socialize but will also help you in learning new skills every day.
Health clubs, community centers, schools, and other organizations often offer studio dance classes for all beginners and experience levels.
3. Don’t Be Judgmental
People often dance because they feel happy. Dancing is just a way of expressing our emotions. Dance because you feel good while dancing. You don’t have to be perfect at it.
Stop taking unnecessary worries that people will make fun of your dance moves or you might be looking silly while dancing. Everyone has different tastes. Know your style and keep dancing because, trust us, you definitely look good while dancing.
4. Dance With Yourself
In today’s techno-savvy world, it feels as if everyone is monitoring the steps we take. Our lives are continuously scrutinized. It is frustrating, frankly, and if you are wondering how to break the toxic cycle, dancing is the perfect solution.
Dance with yourself like nobody’s watching. Be your most authentic version and do what you like. Once in a while, it is okay to stop caring about the world and grooving to our favorite tunes.
Conclusion
Bottom line – dancing can be a great form of workout to enhance your physical and mental health. It makes for a great workout form and enhances your mood.
Just a reminder – it really doesn’t matter how you look, and none of the health benefits of dance that we have listed above need you to be a perfect dancer. So, just get out there in the world, and shake it down with your dance moves, pal!
Now that you have read about dancing as a form of mental health therapy, let’s take you to another form of art that is just as good. To know more about music therapy and mental health, click here.
To know more about mental health, subscribe to Your Mental Health Pal.