Dancing Makes You Smarter

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by Mark Nance
on Monday, August 31, 2009

Most people agree that dancing is a good form of exercise, but research shows other health benefits like stress reduction, increased serotonin levels, and improved well being.

Additionally, the New England Journal of Medicine recently reported that dancing is probably the best activity to ward off Alzheimer's and other dementias.

The reasoning behind this is simple, the brain re-writes its neural pathways "as needed." If there is no need, then mental activity will diminish.

Golf, swimming, and bicycling do not re-wire your brain. But dancing will reduce your risk of dementia by a whopping 76%.

It appears the trick to keeping your brain healthy is to find an activity that challenges your mind and requires split-second rapid-fire decision making.

Dancing does this and more. Many brain functions are occurring simultaneously which increases neurological connectivity. These functions include kinesthetic, rational, musical, and emotional processes.

The best way to increase these neural pathways? Take a dance class and the sooner the better because the sooner you get started, the sooner you improve your cognitive reserve.

One of the easiest dances to learn is Jitterbug, the dance your parent's did. It is a great dance for the absolute beginner or guys with two left feet.

Starting September 16th, Mark and Stephanie will teach a beginning Jitterbug class, this dance is also known as East Coast Swing. We will teach this class at the Asheville Arts Center on Merrimon Avenue across from Musician's Workshop. Call 828-337-9402 or visit our site: www.ashevillebalboa.com

Content Source: www.ashevillebalboa.com