November 2012

Dance Steps for Your Brain

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Dance Steps for Your Brain

Benefits of a Dance Workout

The Fountain of Youth
The secret to being youthful is physical activity and learning new things." There isn't much difference between a 25-year-old brain and a 75-year-old brain," says Dr. Monte S. Buchsbaum, director of the Neuroscience PET Laboratory at Mount Sinai School of Medicine.
Your Brain on Dance
Neural pathways are vast networks in our brains that respond to new circumstances and learning throughout our lives. And like our muscles, we have to use them or we’ll lose them. Learning new dance steps develops agility, and requires complex hand-brain coordination that shore up those networks and bolster your memory.
Your Body on Dance
Physical exercise, such as dancing, has a protective effect on the brain. Based on health and exercise data from nearly 5,000 men and women over 65 years of age, those who exercised were less likely to develop dementia and Alzheimer's.
Mind-Body Connection
Research has found physical connections between the brain and muscles. These junctions are where neurons connect with other neurons in the brain, as well as skeletal muscles. At these junctions, the brain uses chemical neurotransmitters responsible for memory and attention to communicate with muscles and regulate movement.
The Mind-Body Dance
Dance is beneficial for the mind-body connection. Physically, your body is strong and flexible and dance enhances your cardiovascular system. Improved cardiovascular health increases oxygen-rich blood to the brain and promotes energy production and waste removal. 
Dance keeps the body-mind interaction alive, and stimulates brain cells to grow and connect with each other in complex ways. By keeping your mind and body strong, and your brain sharp, you can discover your own fountain of youth.

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