The catastrophic effects of Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia are well-known; nevertheless, it is less obvious how to prevent them.
The famous Dr. Michael Mosley said on his podcast Just One Thing that there is a “fun” activity that can reduce your risk of dementia by 76 percent.
The doctor recommends a simple and fun activity: dancing. From the comfort of their own home, everyone can do a little “shimmy.” Plus, a little dancing on a daily basis can make a big difference.
While exercise has been shown to reduce the risk of cognitive decline, dancing may be particularly effective.
“Frequent dancing,” according to him, “was associated with a 76 percent reduced risk of developing dementia.”
The doctor was even able to witness firsthand the activity’s memory-enhancing effects.
“A few years ago,” he added, “I was involved in an experiment with Coventry University where we ran tests on amateur dancers before and after a vigorous 30-minute salsa dancing session.
“Impressively, their spatial working memory, their ability to hold visual information in the brain and then replicate it increased by 18 percent along with more modest improvements in other areas of cognitive function.”
One of the ways dancing can help your brain health is by increasing the capacity of your hippocampus.
In case you didn’t know, the hippocampus is the part of the brain that deals with spatial memory.
The expert explained: “Dancing has also been shown to improve white matter, the number of nerve cells in areas of the brain associated with processing speed and the memory.
And again, these white matter changes were not seen in groups doing other forms of exercise.”
Dr. Julia Christensen of the Max Planck Institute in Germany was invited by the podcast host to delve deeper into the benefits of dancing for the brain.
Dance is even scientifically supported, according to the visitor.
She added: “There are some longitudinal studies that suggest that people who do recreational dancing throughout the years will have less risk of developing dementia and heart disease in old age.
“They will also have generally better markers of health.”
When it comes to the science of dancing, it has been proven that the action causes new neural connections to form in the brain.
“It spurs neuroplasticity,” said Dr. Christensen, “and that goes with improvements in our memory.
“[This] might be related to why longitudinal studies seem to suggest that dancing regularly protects us against cognitive decline and developing dementia in old age.”
The best part is that all you need to do is a dance for a few minutes each day.
The guest expert recommended doing five to ten minutes of “fun” activities per day.
“I think it’s very much about fitting dance into your everyday life,” she said.
Dr. Mosley said: “Dancing really is one of the best ways to keep your body and mind fit and healthy.
“It’s just one thing you can do today and your heart, your brain and even your waistline will thank you.”
Image Credit: Getty
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