Dancing Will Keep Your Brain Young
For all those times we've danced, we've been aware of the physical and emotional benefits dancing can possess. Now a new study published in the open-access journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience proves that dancing has the biggest effect on the aging of the brain.
The study was done at the German center for neurogenerative diseases; this involved two control groups with the average age of each volunteer being 68. Here's what happened.
One group was put on an 18-month weekly course of learning dance routines and the other group was put on endurance and flexibility training. The end result showed that both groups experienced an increase in size of the hippocampus, but dancing had the additional bonus of a change in behavior.
We know what you might be thinking - WHAT IS A HIPPOCAMPUS?! The hippocampus has four major functions that include developing long-term memory, aids in learning, maintaining balance and spatial navigation, and influencing emotions and motivation.
A higher growth of the hippocampus was attributed to dancing because it wasn't as monotonous as endurance/resistance training. While the latter does require effort and energy, dancing is more stimulating to the brain. Since participants were being exposed to new routines and moved their bodies in more diverse ways the brain was challenged more.
In the End, the study concluded that dancing can be utilized as a "tool to keep the body and mind challenged". So what you all waiting for? Looks like the dancing is the new fountain of youth.
H/T: Daybreaker
