Dancing makes you smarter & other useful facts

For hundreds of years dance manuals and other writings have lauded the health benefits of dancing, usually as physical exercise. More recently we’ve seen research on further health benefits of dancing, such as stress reduction and increased serotonin level, with its sense of well-being. Then most recently we’ve heard of another benefit: Frequent dancing apparently makes us smarter. More…

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The next time you look into the mirror,
just look at the way the ears rest next to the head;
look at the way the hairline grows;
think of all the little bones in your wrist.
It is a miracle.
And the dance is a celebration of that miracle.
Martha Graham

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Have you bought a gym membership but just can’t seem to stick to an exercise regime?
Well, now a new study has found that dancing, and waltzing in particular, is just as good as time in the gym – and that people tend to stick to it longer than more traditional forms of exercise. People with heart failure who took up waltzing breathed more efficiently, exercised longer, and generally felt better, the study found. They also showed improved elasticity in their arteries. Part of the benefits of dancing could be that people are interacting socially as opposed to walking on a treadmill by themselves.
Extracted from Heart – the Magazine of the Heart and Stroke foundation, Spring 2008