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Ballroom Dance Benefits
Ballroom dancing has always been about sharing the joy of music and movement with a partner. Although, not always discussed, the benefit of dancing goes beyond the joy of enjoying a musical piece including, muscle strength, confidence, cardiovascular health--and so much more. If you are considering learning to dance ballroom, consider the benefits below. Also, if possible, recruit a partner that will help you enhance your dancing awareness and develop a natural dancing habit to the rhythm and style of multiple Ballroom and Latin dance styles.
1. Exercise
Dancing is physical exercise. Exercise increases endurance. Endurance is the ability of muscles to work hard for increasingly longer periods of time without fatigue. Regular dancing is great for improving endurance, especially vigorous dancing such as line and ballroom dancing. Elevating the heart rate can increase stamina. Just as in any form of exercise, regular dancing will build endurance.
2. Physical Health
When you dance, your cardiovascular system improves, your muscle tone increases, and you burn calories. This low-impact aerobic activity also increases flexibility, strength, and balance. Olympic athletes often dance as part of their training to sharpen their control, agility, and speed. Dancing is great exercise in a pleasant, fun atmosphere. It is also an excellent cardiovascular exercise that will use all your major muscle groups.
It encourages good posture and body alignment, and will strengthen your body’s core abdominal muscles. You will become more flexible, more agile, and more graceful both on and off the dance floor.
You’ll burn calories while you’re having fun. It’s invigorating!
3. Meet New People
Social Life - Dancing lessons are an easy, low-pressure way to meet people. You’ll spend your evenings on the dance floor among different people instead of alone in front of the TV. You’ll learn to dance with a variety of partners, many of whom will become your friends. It’s a terrific way to meet new people who share the same passion for dancing as you do.
4. Relaxation
In today's fast-paced world, we sometimes forget to take a moment for ourselves. Dancing provides a temporary escape from your normal daily activities, a chance to relax, relieve stress, and concentrate on yourself.
5. New Fun Hobby
You can discover a new passion and joy in your life at any age. Dancing is a wonderful way to add excitement to your life. Although learning to dance takes concentration and dedication, you will be constantly surrounded by artistic, cheerful people who make learning a pleasurable and rewarding experience.
6. Become Smarter
A major study added to the growing evidence that stimulating one's mind can ward off Alzheimer's disease and other dementia, much as physical exercise can keep the body fit. Dancing also increases cognitive acuity at all ages.
The 21-year study of senior citizens, 75 and older, was led by the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City, funded by the National Institute on Aging, and published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Their method for objectively measuring mental acuity in aging was to monitor rates of dementia, including Alzheimer's disease.
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The study wanted to see if any physical or cognitive recreational activities influenced mental acuity. They discovered that some activities had a significant beneficial effect. Other activities had none.
They studied cognitive activities such as reading books, writing for pleasure, doing crossword puzzles, playing cards and playing musical instruments. And they studied physical activities like playing tennis or golf, swimming, bicycling, dancing, walking for exercise and doing housework.
One of the surprises of the study was that almost none of the physical activities appeared to offer any protection against dementia. There can be cardiovascular benefits of course, but the focus of this study was the mind. There was one important exception: the only physical activity to offer protection against dementia was frequent dancing.
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Reading - 35% reduced risk of dementia
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Bicycling and swimming - 0%
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Doing crossword puzzles at least four days a week - 47%
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Playing golf - 0%
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Dancing frequently - 76%.
That was the greatest risk reduction of any activity studied, cognitive or physical.
Finally, remember that this study made another suggestion: do it often. Seniors who did crossword puzzles four days a week had a measurably lower risk of dementia than those who did the puzzles once a week. If you can't take classes or go out dancing four times a week, then dance as much as you can. More is better.
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And do it now, the sooner the better. It's essential to start building your cognitive reserve now. Someday you'll need as many of those stepping stones across the creek as possible. Don't wait — start building them now.
7.Popularity and Sex
SCIENTISTS have confirmed what fans of John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever have known all along: men with the best dance moves have the most sex appeal. The finding lends support to the idea that dancing is a way to show off high quality genes and good health - both indicators of a top-quality mate. Now, if there ever was any doubt that women LOVE a man who can dance, it's been irrefutably proven that they do. For decades, some of the sexiest men in film have wowed female audiences with their dance moves. Were they sexy before they started dancing? Some were, others, not so much. But it cannot be denied that there's something special about a man who can take command on the dance floor.