Why Dance? Science Has Answers.

Why Dance? Science Has Answers. Guest Post by Preschool Director Stacey Brimhall

 

Why do we dance? Or why should we? Ancient humanity danced to banish evil, meditate in motion, access the divine, and just entertain, but more recent scientists decided we better have some other reasons, too. Here’s just a glimpse of the tabs upon tabs of research lined up in my browser, giving us all some hard facts about why dancing is beneficial:

 

• Improve cardiovascular fitnessHere are a few stats from the American Heart Association:
  • • One out of 3 deaths in the US are from cardiovascular disease. That’s about one every 40 seconds, 2200 deaths per day and 801,000 per year.
    • Cardiovascular diseases kill more people than all types of cancer combined.
    • They cost Americans $316 billion/year, in lost productivity and wages and health spending.
    • Up to 250,000 deaths per year in the US are due to lack of physical activity… like dance.

   

 

• Increase bone density
  • If you know someone (or are someone) who’s broken a bone, especially as an older adult, you know how important this is.
  • Turns out building bone mass happens best in childhood and adolescence, and that’s a great time to start learning dance, too.
  • Less sitting and more dancing means fewer fractures (hip, vertebrae, and anything that could break from a fall) and less osteoporosis.
  • Dancing boosts balance and confidence, and studies show that those mean half as many falls, and a significant drop in fractures and bone density loss.

 

• Reduce obesity
  • Obesity is a risk factor for a whole laundry list of health problems: type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, gallstones, joint problems, and more.
  • We all know energy balance (moving and eating the right amounts) helps control weight, and dance is one of one of the most fun ways to move. That means it’s one of the ones we’re most likely to do often and keep doing for life!

 

• • Fight depression

 

 

• A 12-week fitness program significantly improved depression, anxiety, and self concept… and results lasted the entire year of follow-up.
• Other studies show that exercise was as useful as medication, and again, the effects continued even after the mandated exercising finished.
• Why do dance and other exercise improve depression so much? Some scientists say that exercise could increase the availability of neurotransmitters in the brain, which are otherwise dramatically reduced in people with depression.
• Dance is a good distraction from negative thoughts, and according to research, works better than more introspective methods (journaling, describing moods).
• Unlike a lot of other distraction techniques, dance (and exercise in general) not only reduces depression, but increases “positive affect” (ability to be happy and interested in things).

 

• Improve self-concept
  • Exercise increases self-efficacy: feeling like we can do what we need to do.

 

• Reduce anxiety
  • One cool research tidbit shows that when the body, and especially the brain stem, warms up due to exercise, it makes us feel relaxed and reduces muscle tension. It significantly improved anxiety, in one study.

A few nerdy disclaimers: lots more well-conducted research is needed, especially in the mental health arena, but the results are consistent. Most research focuses on exercise and fitness of any type (walking, running, cycling, and strength training are common, because they’re easy to measure), but more studies are being done with dance specifically. It’ll be interesting to see what research uncovers when the social, creative, expressive, intellectual, and skill-focused aspects of dance are analyzed objectively.

 

And ask a scientist like my husband why he dances, and you’ll get this:

• It’s the most tolerable way to prevent the heart disease I’d get from sitting at the computer all day.
• It requires some intellectual effort, so at least it’s not boring like running.
• It’s creative. Sports are pointless. Dancing, however, especially performance, creates something that improves the world, even though it’s a temporary product.

 

Sources 

 

Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics 2017 At-a-Glance
https://www.heart.org/idc/groups/ahamah-public/@wcm/@sop/@smd/documents/downloadable/ucm_491265.pdf

 

The effects of recreational dance interventions on the health and well-being of children and young people: A systematic review
Jan Burkhardt & Cathy Brennan
Arts & Health Vol. 4 , Iss. 2,2012

 

DANCE MOVEMENT THERAPY IMPROVES EMOTIONAL RESPONSES AND MODULATES NEUROHORMONES IN ADOLESCENTS WITH MILD DEPRESSION
YOUNG-JA JEONG, SUNG-CHAN HONG, MYEONG SOO LEE, MIN-CHEOL PARK, YONG-KYU KIM & CHAE-MOON SUH
International Journal of Neuroscience Vol. 115 , Iss. 12,2005

Exercise and Cardiovascular Health
Jonathan Myers
Circulation. 2003;107:e2-e5, originally published January 7, 2003

International Osteoporosis Foundation
https://www.iofbonehealth.org/facts-statistics

Prim Care Companion J Clin Psychiatry. 2004; 6(3): 104–111.
PMCID: PMC474733
The Benefits of Exercise for the Clinically Depressed
Lynette L. Craft, Ph.D. and Frank M. Perna, Ed.D., Ph.D.