Why dancing matters!
Dancing Motivations based on gender
"Dancing makes you feel alive", because the amount of endorphins released due to the combination of music and workout is very high. This is in no way comparable to the way a monotonous treadmill run will feel - while dancing has a positive effect on your fitness.
Asking 447 Dancers about their motivation, the study concluded that the biggest motivation is mood enhancement.
Here is a list of all the motivations:
1. enhancement: mood improving and energizing nature of dancing2. self-confidence: improve feeling of sexiness and self-esteem3. mastery: motivations that arose from the improvement of coordination, and body movements, as well as increasing control of one’s own body 4. socializing: being in good company and being with like-minded people5. fitness: cardiovascular endurance, flexibility, muscular endurance, body composition and muscular strength6. trance: ecstasy, floating, and dancing as a way to reach altered state of mind7. coping: eg. escaping the daily workload/routine8. intimacy: looking out for a flirt, friendship, relationship or sex partner
As shown on the side, the strongest motivational factor was Mood Enhancement, followed by Self-confidence. Women were more likely to dance for reasons of Fitness, Mood Enhancement, Trance, Self-Confidence, Escapism than men. Men on the other hand were mostly motivated by Intimacy. There was no significant difference between males and females regarding Socializing and Mastery.
Sources:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4372397/
Dancing is good for self-confidence
Burgess G, Grogan S, Burwitz L. released there study in 2006 about the effect of dance intervention on body image and physical self-perceptions.
They compared the effects of swimming vs dancing on a group of 50 British schoolgirls aged 13-14 years.
Sources:https://www.peterlovatt.com/Dance%20Psychology%20Section%203%20Lecture%2010%20Self%20Esteem%20Recreational%20Dance%20compressed.pdfhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18089209
Protective factor in preventing mental illness and reducing the severity of psychosomatic symptoms
In 2013, psychologists at the University of Örebro started to analyse the impact of dance on depression. According to the World Health Organization, unipolar depressive disorders were ranked as the third leading cause of the global burden of disease in 2004 and will move into the first place by 2030. Dance exercise is considered an active strategy to prevent and treat depression and anxiety in adults and school-aged youth. Participating in physical activity can also improve self-esteem. To increase physical activity in young age, an organized, non-competitive, leisure-time intervention is considered beneficial. In a social context, dance might serve as a protective factor in preventing mental illness and reducing the severity of psychosomatic symptoms. An 8-month dance intervention study showed cost-effectiveness and improvements in self-rated health for adolescent girls with internalizing problems. The improvement remained a year after the intervention.
Sources:https://www.oru.se/english/research/research-projects/rp/?rdb=p1238#tab-1 https://www.who.int/mental_health/management/depression/wfmh_paper_depression_wmhd_2012.pdf https://psychology-spot.com/dancing-makes-me-happy/?fbclid=IwAR3HAEWyIdLQyqHcYt2FnRe6EtjFb4g78IJSfppK3l5NFxlB97i6VBwu1YA
Dancing can reduce the onset of dementia
The World Health Organization expects the number of people who will be affected by neurological disorders to increase in the upcoming decades. Dance is seen as viable therapy because it simultaneously combines physical and cognitive stimulation, which could maximize its impact on neuroplasticity and cognition. Studies examined so far, show an effects of dance in elderly individuals with dementia, including subjects with Alzheimer’s disease.
In 2003, research published in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that dancing can reduce the onset of dementia. The 21-year study of senior citizens, aged 75 and older, was led by the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City.
A more recent study (2017) compared the effects of dance with fitness training consisting of endurance and flexibility exercises. Both groups showed an increase in the area of the hippocampus (an area of the brain linked to memory and learning) however, only the dance group also displayed improved balance.
Sources:https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa022252http://blogs.biomedcentral.com/bmcseriesblog/2016/04/04/keep-dancing-turns-good-brain/ https://medicalxpress.com/news/2017-08-reverse-aging-brain.html
Dancing will lower your cardiovascular risks
A meta study by Rodrigues-Krause J., Farinha JB., Krause M., Reischak-Oliveira Á. in 2016 analysed the effects of dance interventions on cardiovascular risks.
Findings: VO2peak improved in favour of dancers, compared to non-exercise controls.
Sources:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27912941
Dancing is good for your budget and does not harm the environment
Compared to other activities, all you need for dancing is music and your body. No additional costs are involved. No need for expensive equipment, training devices, special clothes. No trees cut, no animal harmed, nothing that will end up in a trashcan after each activity.