How Dancing Keeps My Brain Healthy and Happy By Waine Sy


2020 has been a quite different year for us; we are not able to go out outdoors for several months and we experienced a new norm at school. The Covid-19 pandemic caused numerous changes in our lifestyles and one of which is that we are not able to do things that we get used to for our own comfort and enjoyment. Still, we need to keep our body healthy and strong through physical exercises such as dancing for it would be one of the effective treatment strategies for symptoms of both depression and anxiety which includes short and long-term benefits for mood, sleep, and physical health.


Dancing is considered to be one of the best exercises that one should do in his/her lifetime for not only that it is easily accessible by everyone for one does not require expensive equipment (in gym exercises) but also it can provide the same health benefits such as good physical and mental health. Speaking of mental health, dancing can provide many benefits to one’s brain such as improved memory, improved self-esteem/confidence, and lowered symptoms of stress, anxiety and depression. 


Dancing involves memorization of choreographic steps in order to properly perform. Since dancing is memorizing steps, it acts as a form of “memory-games” for the brain to continuously be trained and stretched to memorize more information which improves short and long-term memory abilities and reduces the risks of memory-related illnesses such as Alzheimer’s and dementia. Whenever the brain is memorizing things, the “white matter” part of the brain that is responsible for the memorization and thinking functions of the brain gets stretched which in turn increases the number of the said white matter. By dancing, one will be able to improve his/her brain functionality while at the same time improves his/her critical thinking skills as a result of an improved brain activity. 


Based on my experience, dancing is considered a form of social activity for anybody. While everyone believes that one must be a dancer in order to dance, dancing can be learned by anyone as long as one has enough patience, practice, and passion in doing so. Dancing can improve one’s confidence which in turn improves one’s self esteem by making sure that one does not stick to the belief of people with less dance experience is enough to make them feel insecure about themselves. By practicing dancing, one will be prepared in doing any dance activities due to him/her being used to exposing his/her moves to the audience. Because of his/her feeling less insecure about themselves in dancing, he/she is able to improve his/her self-confidence and self-esteem for a healthier and better personal/character development.


When it comes to improved mental and emotional health, dancing can accomplish both of these. Aside from improving one’s memorization skills, dancing can also reduce the symptoms of stress, anxiety and depression. Dancing, as an art of freedom of expression, can act as a medium for one to express everything, especially negative feelings; in psychology, expressing any negative thoughts ought to make a person more relaxed and comfortable than just keeping them in oneself that will eventually harm him/her. Dancing, not only lowers one’s own stress levels by using body movement in expression, but also serves as leisure time because dancing is fun; dancing, like exercise, can help one person to be physically, mentally, and emotionally happy.


So what are you waiting for?   Let’s hit the dance floor :)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Basic Jazz Dance Steps By Ju Fernando

Dancing is an activity that is now more popular than ever due to the rise of social media. Platforms like TikTok allow this activity to shine and be recognized, even jazz. Now that many wish to get into dancing, or have already begun their journey in dance. it is important for us to emphasize the importance of the basics of jazz. While more advanced steps would help expand your repetoire , these steps are both simple and never go out of style. Before attempts to create your own dances, or to simply nail the ones you are already learning, you should consider starting with the very basics.  Here are some of the basic steps: Cross Point Start with feet in an L position, with the left foot in front Cross the right foot diagonal left, bend the knees Point the other foot sideward aligned toes, maintaining a middle level Do the opposite movements Side Step | Forward & Backward Step Start with your feet together Side Step Step right foot in place Step left foot sideward Step the other foot
Read more

ATP and the Energy Systems By EJ Taylan

Dancing is exercise. Shocking, I know. And just like any other exercise, dancing takes up energy from your body. As we all know, energy comes from the food that we eat, especially foods rich in carbohydrates, healthy fats, and protein. But food isn't actually used directly as energy. When food is broken down, it releases energy, and that energy is what the body stores in molecules called adenosine triphosphate, or ATP. And now people who had biology in high school just got PTSD. Bad jokes aside, ATP is what the body uses to do, well, anything. It's the main energy source of the body. It powers everything from muscle movement to body temperature regulation to DNA replication. Literally every cell in the human body uses ATP.  Now you may be asking yourself, "How does the body produce all that energy?" Well I'm glad you asked. And if you didn't, well too bad you're getting the answer anyway. The body has three energy systems that can produce ATP. The ATP-PCr
Read more

Choreographic Techniques By: Sedric Yang

Have you ever wondered how people are able to carry out such excellent dance routines? The answer to that is choreography. “What’s that” you say? Well, choreography is defined as the art of creating and arranging dances; the word itself having been derived from the Greek words χορεία, meaning “circular dance”, and γραφή, meaning “writing”. In my experience, I’ve struggled quite a bit with making dance routines, but the use of some basic choreographic techniques managed to alleviate some of the difficulty I have with making these things. Some of the more basic choreographic techniques involved in dancing include stage directions, symmetry, and dynamics (or tempo). Stage directions are basically just positioning. The stage can be divided into nine areas: Upstage left, upstage center, upstage right, left center, center, right center, downstage left, downstage center, and downstage right. These positions or areas are usually used to indicate where the dancers should be at any given p
Read more