5 Benefits Of Dance For Physical And Mental Health

Exercise is essential to maintain a healthy and balanced life. However, most people do not find the motivation or time to go to the gym or run. However, there are other possibilities that are less tedious and with a great number of benefits, both physical and mental, such as dancing.

Dance is a universal language that is present in all cultures, a different way of communicating with others and a powerful tool to exercise creativity and express yourself.

Next, we’ll explain the benefits of dancing for physical and mental health. While many of these benefits are closely related to the body’s well-being, others, in contrast, have more to do with mental health. Some even benefit physical and mental health in equal measure.

The most important benefits of dancing are as follows:

• Improves circulation.
• Helps burn body fat.
• Favors an improvement in mood.
• Strengthens personal relationships.
• Makes contact with yourself easier.

The main health benefits of dance

1- Dancing improves circulation

The first of the benefits of dance has to do with the health of the heart and cardiovascular system, as it improves blood circulation and lung capacity. As it is an aerobic exercise, it reduces the chances of suffering a heart attack.

2- Helps burn calories and lose body fat

This second benefit of dancing is directly related to the first: by doing aerobic exercise, you will not only improve circulation, but you will also  favor the burning of calories and the loss of body fat.

In addition, it will help to increase self-esteem and energy levels to face everyday life.

3- Improves mood

Currently, the evidence available on the effect of exercise on mood is overwhelming: dancing improves mood.

Due to factors such as the release of endorphins and an improvement in body image, exercising muscles through dancing helps to combat problems such as stress or anxiety and contributes to making people feel happier.

On the other hand, dancing can be performed as a relaxing activity. In this way it helps the mind to disconnect from negative thoughts and worries. In addition, it favors adrenaline channeling, increases motivation and enthusiasm for life.

As if all that wasn’t enough, dancing is an activity that helps to achieve what is now known as a state of flux. According to a study by Amado, Leo, Sánchez-Miguel, Sánchez-Oliva and García-Calvo (2011), people who practice dance experience states of flux in which they are totally absorbed by what they do.

4- Improves personal relationships

Dancing is a social discipline. Although you can do this activity yourself, there are many modalities that offer the opportunity to interact with other people.

For example, attending dance classes increases the number of friendships, as well as the connection with other people, by having to coordinate and communicate only with the movement of the body. In fact, it connects people of different ages and even countries. There are no boundaries for dancing.

5- It helps to stay in touch with yourself

Dancing – like any other artistic activity – includes a high emotional component. Its practice helps us to be in touch with ourselves and to express what we feel.

Dancing frees us and allows us to communicate through movement that emotional universe that sometimes we dare not express in any other way. In fact, in some regions, dance is starting to be used as therapy.

As we can see, the benefits of dancing are numerous, both for our physical and mental health. Today, we only mention the most important ones. If you really want to know what dancing can bring to your life, you just need to start dancing. Do you get excited?