Can Dancing Make you Smarter?

According to Richard Powers, an active contributor to the New England Journal of Medicine, it can! Not only does dance contribute to stress reduction and cognitive acuity, it can actually ward of Alzheimer Disease and other forms of dementia!

In this particular study, doctors investigated COGNITIVE activities such as:

Reading Books

Writing for pleasure

Doing Crossword puzzles

Playing Cards

and playing musical instruments

AS WELL as PHYSICAL activities including:

Playing tennis or golf

Swimming or bicycling

Dancing 

Walking

and housework

AND GUESS WHAT? "The only physical activity to offer protection against dementia was frequent dancing."

Defining the Risk in Numbers: Statistically Speaking

Reading- Reduced the risk of dementia by 35%

Bicycling or swimming- Reduced the risk by 0% 

Doing Crossword puzzles at least 4 days a week- Reduced the risk by 47%

Playing Golf- Reduced the risk by 0%

Dancing frequently- reduced the risk of dementia by an alarming 76%

But How?

Scientifically speaking, our brains constantly rewire its neural pathways as needed. "The cerebral cortex and hippocampus, which are critical to dancing, are remarkably plastic and they rewire themselves based upon their use. 

Now in language that is easier to understand: Intelligence is exactly this: YOU USE IT OR YOU LOSE IT.

When you learn a new dance pattern, your brain goes into hyper drive-diligently remembering the steps. The more you practice this pattern the MORE you use your brain, which inevitably lowers the risk of dementia! Again, USE IT OR LOSE IT! 

Any time that you learn something new, you are stimulating your mind, as well as those neural pathways.

According to Richard Powers, dancing integrates several brain functions at once-increasing your connectivity. Dancing simultaneously involves kinesthetic, rational, musical and emotional processes."

SO, what NOW? DANCE! DANCE! DANCE! It's not only good for your physical health and well being, it can ward off DEMENTIA and ALZHEIMERS DISEASE! 

{Source: http://socialdance.stanford.edu/syllabi/smarter.htm}

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