Dancing Can Help Your Brain

Dancing is fun – a good way to meet people – but now we know it can stave off neurological conditions. Here are the dance styles and what they can do for your brain. This comes from functional medicine expert Dr. Jill Baron.

To preserve your memory: Go to a club and do some freestyle dancing. When a study tested 11 different activities – including cycling and swimming – dancing was the only one linked to a lower risk for dementia. It not only gets your blood flowing – but being creative enough to come up with your own moves and stay in-sync with the beat – keeps your mind sharp.

Dancing can also delay the onset of Parkinson’s. And aerobic dancing is best for this… like a Zumba class. Again, the heart-pumping activity increases blood flow to the brain. But the coordinated moves of Zumba help maintain muscle control over time.

And the best dance to beat depression is line dancing! Dr. Baron says, in recent studies, just over an hour of line dancing resulted in a serious dip in depression episodes for days. We know that exercise is good for mental health, but line dancing is also extremely social. And feeling connected to a group during exercise is a powerful antidote to depressed feelings.