We’re all familiar with how dancing gets the heart pumping and the good times rolling, but did you know dancing has a strong correlation with brain health—particularly in older adults? In fact, research has noted a 76% reduced risk of dementia in participants who danced often. Offering physical, mental and social stimulation, dancing keeps you young at heart—and in your mind, too!
Dancing and Brain Health
Whether you are taking a Zumba class in our fitness center, bobbing around at a lively happy hour, or waltzing with a partner, Montereau offers a myriad of ways to get moving while having fun. Our team at Montereau promotes dancing and other physical activities because dance offers so many benefits. For instance, dancing can help you:
- Boost memory: When it comes to dance classes, they involve a lot of repetition and learning a series of steps. This improves your motor and cognitive abilities which in turn boost your memory. This benefit is primarily what helps in lowering your chance of developing dementia.
- Improve balance: Ballerinas are infamous for completing multiple spins without losing balance. Unless you suffer from other conditions, what usually throws you off balance are sudden movements or dizziness. Balance isn’t only a matter of physical strength. Dancing improves your balance by also allowing your brain to adapt to constant and varied movements thereby suppressing signals that would otherwise make you dizzy.
- Stimulate nerve growth factors: Nerve growth factors are important proteins because they help to maintain sensory neuron health. This increased connectivity between both hemispheres of the brain improves its neuroplasticity—the ability to form new neural connections to change and adapt. That’s why dancing is so beneficial in treating many neurological diseases such as stroke, Parkinson’s and cerebral palsy.
- Improve your mood: Dance helps to improve your mood which is also partly attributed to the enjoyment of the accompanying music. The increased levels of serotonin, a feel-good hormone, develop new neural connections in the regions of the brain that are responsible for long-term memory and spatial recognition.
Get Moving at Montereau
At Montereau, we’re fortunate to have so many interesting people among our residents, including Georgia Snoke, a retired ballet dancer who definitely knows her way around a dance floor. She said she loves Montereau’s wellness program because it gives her the chance to focus on movement, flexibility and strength training every day of the week.
“I am extremely impressed by the quality of the teachers and the variety they do,” she said of Montereau’s fitness classes. “There are many classes that would fit what you want to do, and best of all, no one is looking at you and saying you can’t do that. Everyone is encouraging and cheers you on. The friendly camaraderie here impresses me.”
Our focus at Montereau is to help you live a happier and healthier life. To learn more about our wellness program and what activities you can find, take a look at https://www.montereau.net/wellness. We’d love to show you more—and to see your dance moves—so contact us any time for a tour!