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"Why Ballroom Dancing is Good for You:
Mentally and Physically"
At a weekly dance in the local senior
citizen's center, I was dancing with Jenny when she tripped and fell to
the floor, landing softly on her behind and then on her back and pulling
me down on top of her. As I helped her up, I asked if she was okay. "I
know one thing for sure," Jenny said. "We fell for each other."
This 80-year old retired teacher dances
three or four times every week. She is mentally and physically active. She
knows dancing keeps her heart pumping. But she didn't know dancing also
keeps her brains active.
A recent study at the Einstein College
of Medicine, Yeshiva University in Bronx showed that dancing reduced the
risk of dementia, a brain disorder that includes Alzheimer's disease
affecting 6 to 7 million Americans over the age of 60. The result of the
research led by Dr. Joseph Verghese, assistant professor of neurology, was
reported in the New England Journal of Medicine in June 2003 (Vol. 348,pp
2508-16).
The research involved 469 men and women
aged 75 and older, and the time span of 21 years that began in 1980. All
participants were screened at the start to ensure that they were free of
dementia. The researchers studied lifestyle of each participant to see if
he or she engaged in some of the 6 cognitive activities (reading, writing,
doing crossword puzzles, playing musical instruments, taking part in group
discussion, and playing board games) and 11 physical activities (dancing,
numerous sports, housework, and baby-sitting).
They followed the activities of each for
an average of 5.1 years. Among the participants were 130 who danced
frequently (3 or 4 times a week), 83 who swam frequently, 26 who bicycled
frequently, and 19 who played games frequently.
In the period of study, 124 participants
developed dementia: 61 Alzheimer's disease, 30 vascular dementia, 25 mixed
dementia, and 8 other forms of dementia.
The results revealed that frequent
cognitive activities reduced the risk of dementia. There was no big
surprise there, for other earlier studies indicated that much. The most
surprising result was that, of all the physical activities, dancing was
the only activity that reduced the risk of dementia.
The frequency of activities was also an
important factor. For example, those who danced 4 times a week showed 76
percent less incidence of dementia than those who did only once a week or
not at all. Naturally, the more you dance the greater the benefit you
reap--as far as dementia is concerned.
What is so special about ballroom
dancing? "Dance is not purely physical in many ways. It also requires a
lot of mental effort," says Dr. Verghese. Dancers follow complex steps and
figures. You have to think about them and remember them. Men have to think
about what steps to do next and lead the women. And women have to follow
the men, adapting to their movement and to the precise beat of the music.
So, dancing keeps your feet and brains on the ball. Dancers do not just
move on reflex. Dancing is a cognitive activity. It requires concentration
and thus keeps your brain working harder and longer.
You cannot wear your brains out,
scientists say. The more you use them the sharper they get. They are not
like kitchen knives that get dull with use. I used to tell my students. "If
you struggle to solve a physics problem, that is when your neurons
multiply and grow." So, if you learn a new step or figure, and struggle to
remember it, that will keep your brains stimulated and working
longer.
If you don't use your brain, you will
lose it. For example, if you sit in front of a TV all day, it will not
help. A few years ago Dr. Robert Friedland reported in the Proceedings of
the National Academy of Sciences that people who watch an excessive amount
of TV in old age ran a greater risk of Alzheimer's disease. Watching TV or
slumbering in front of it does not take much brainwork.
This does not mean the physical part of the
dancing is unimportant. Maintaining physical activities becomes all the
more important, as you get older.
Recent studies showed that physical and
emotional benefits of dancing are countless. It is no secret that moderate
exercise and sensible eating habits are the key to keeping you trim and
fit. Besides being a fun social activity, dancing is also an ideal, low
impact exercise and also a mild aerobic workout. It can reduce stress,
tension, anxiety, and even depression. It increases your confidence in
social and business situations, and sharpens your control, agility, speed,
and balance. It also increases your flexibility and stamina, strengthens
your bones and cardiovascular system, and helps you burn those excess
calories.
Some studies indicated that a half hour
of sustained dancing can burn as many as 200 to 400 calories. Twenty
minutes of dancing can provide as much exercise as 20 minutes of swimming
or biking. If you are not sure, try 20 minutes of jitterbug, samba, polka,
quickstep or Viennese waltz.
The International Olympic Committee has
recently recognized ballroom dancing as DanceSport, an athletic
competitive sport. You may have noticed how athletic ballroom dance
competitors look. "Ballroom dancing is a rigorous activity that uses large
muscle groups," says Jackie Tally who teaches ballroom dancing at Samford
University. "It's similar to ice skating, and no one would question the
athletic ability of an ice skater. A ballroom dancer might be in better
shape that a figure skater. A dancer does not get that free glide over the
ice; he has to work every step of the way." Being a low impact activity,
dancing is accessible to people of any age or fitness level-with more
emphasis on having fun and less emphasis on going for the burn.
Do you remember how fit and trim Fred
Astaire, Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse looked in those movie musicals? Did
you know that Fred Astaire was 88 when he died in 1987. Gene Kelly was 84
when he passed away in 1996, and Cyd Charisse at 83 is still slim and
beautiful?
by Tai-Hyung Kwon, Ph.D.
Amateur Dancer Magazine
May/June 2004, p. 7
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Citrus College
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