How Dancing is Good for Your Health

Staying healthy and active can be a challenge, especially as we age. While your diet is crucial if you want to maintain a healthy lifestyle, so is regular exercise. That doesn’t mean you need to lace up your running shoes and start jogging, but experts recommend you at least get 150 minutes of moderate activity each week. This can be any type of exercise, including brisk walks, cycling, and even dancing.

One of the best ways to ensure you stick to a regular routine of exercise is to make sure you’re having fun. Dancing as a form of exercise is a great option because not only are you using all of your muscles and working your heart, but it’s also really enjoyable. In recent years, more and more people have been signing up to dance classes. You can now find dance studio hire London online, and a growing number of dance instructors are offering dance fitness classes. Here are some of the great benefits dancing can provide.

Improves Cardiovascular Health

Keeping our hearts and lungs healthy is perhaps one of the key benefits of exercise. Known as the cardiovascular system, this is the part of our body responsible for providing oxygen to our muscles. Having poor cardiovascular health may result in being tired or out of breath after light exercise. However, it can also lead to more serious conditions if left unchecked.

Over time, having a weak cardiovascular system can increase your risk of issues such as heart disease and stroke. Dancing is a great way to train your heart and lungs, improving your cardiovascular health. All styles of dance are suitable, though some are more intense than others. Provided you’re getting the required amount of exercise, it should be enough to provide benefits to your health.

Increases Balance and Muscle Strength

Aside from making your heart and lungs stronger and more efficient, dancing will also increase your strength and balance. One of the unique things about dance, when compared to other forms of working out, is that you need to improve both strength and flexibility. This has the benefit of making your body better at all types of movements, making you less susceptible to injuries.

No muscles are left out when performing a dance, with your body receiving an all-over workout. Improved balance is also very useful, meaning you move more confidently and are less likely to fall.  

Options for All Ages and Body Types

Dancing is a great choice of exercise for its health benefits, and there are many styles you can try out. Because of this, it’s incredibly inclusive to all ages and body types. Whether you’re already an experienced dancer or you’ve never done any dancing before, you can find a class that will suit you.

You don’t need to worry about sessions that are too difficult, as there are always options available for beginners. If you’re worried about being judged, you should remember that everyone has to start from somewhere. The more you dance, the more you’ll improve and can try new things over time.

Helps Cognitive Performance

Learning to dance isn’t just good for your body but also your mind. Research has shown that learning new things like dance routines and exercises helps to stimulate our brain and improve cognitive function.

As we get older, our cognitive performance can decline over time. However, keeping ourselves busy by learning new things can prevent this. Areas of the brain that control memory, organisation and planning can improve through dancing.