Interested in health benefits of dance?

[ZoeinDerby]

I would like to hear from people in the UK (and certain other EU countries) who would like to research the health benefits of dance. I am setting up a pilot study in the Nottingham area to last a few weeks with a view to using the results to apply for funding for a long-term study in several towns perhaps next year.

I would like to hear from anyone with a scientific background willing to help with the research by monitoring subjects or by referring patients to the studies. For my pilot study I am looking for people with Parkinson's disease willing to learn modern (Western) square dancing for 3-4 months but the long-term study will look at several groups of people with a range of medical conditions doing several kinds of dance, depending on what is available locally from the voluntary sector and local adult education colleges, etc..

[miss mondo]

Hi Zoe,

Your research project sounds really interesting!

Unfortunately, I can't help by participating, but if you like we can promote your project on the mondofacto twitter page?

Miss M

[ZoeinDerby]

Please post the details on any noticeboards that would help.

Thanks.

[mondo mod]

We have posted about your study on our twitter page: http://twitter.com/mondofacto

Hope this helps

[gracyna]

What types of dance are required for being really good? I am starting dancing in one or two months. I did dance before for about 3 or 4 years. I know I have to do ballet but what other types of dance do you think I have to do?

Edited by admin. Post links pointlessly like that again and you will be banned gracyna.

[ZoeinDerby]

I am interested in encouraging researchers to study dance as most health research concerned with exercise is restricted to sports activities. Far more people go dancing than take part in sports and those that join dance clubs and classes tend to stay with the same group for a long time (40 or 50 years is not unusual) so long-term benefits can be assessed and longitudinal studies would be relatively easy to establish.

As to which kinds of dance are the most beneficial, I would guess that if you are prepared to do several kinds, you should choose one or two solely for their physical benefits and one or two for their psychological benefits, i.e. those that stretch your mind, such as Playford or modern (Western) square dancing. Of course, you also need to find something local so that you don't have problems travelling to classes during the winter.

[willyjoeg]

That is a really really good idea!

[DEBRA]

Dancing is a great way for people of all ages to get and stay in shape. Besides being fun, dancing has many positive health benefits. Following are the top 4 health benefits of dance.

1. Flexibility

Flexibility is an important part of being healthy. Dance requires a great amount of flexibility. Most dance classes begin with a warm-up including several stretching exercises. Dancers must strive to achieve full range of motion for all the major muscle groups. The greater the range of motion, the more muscles can flex and extend. Most forms of dance require dancers to perform moves that require bending and stretching, so dancers naturally become more flexible by simply dancing and Generic Levitra can be used.

2. Strength

Strength is defined as the ability of a muscle to exert a force against resistance. Dancing builds strength by forcing the muscles to resist against a dancer’s own body weight. Many styles of dance, including jazz and ballet, require jumping and leaping high into the air. Jumping and leaping require tremendous strength of the major leg muscles. Ballroom dancing builds strength. Consider the muscle mass a male ballroom dancer develops by lifting his partner above his head!

3. Endurance

Dance is physical exercise. Exercise increases endurance. Endurance is the ability of muscles to work hard for increasingly longer periods of time without fatigue. Regular dancing is great for improving endurance, especially vigorous dancing such as line and ballroom dancing. Elevating the heart rate can increase stamina. Just as in any form of exercise, regular dancing will build endurance.

4. Sense of Well-Being

Dancing is a social activity. Studies have shown that strong social ties and socializing with friends contribute to high self-esteem and a positive outlook. Dancing provides many opportunities to meet other people. Joining a dance class can increase self-confidence and build social skills. Because physical activity reduces stress and tension, regular dancing gives an overall sense of well-being.

please leave it....please!!!TT_TT
please!!! I even hid it....please, I read the content of your blog and everything, I looked for information, because it sounded really interesting!

[totalwise]

I have been sala dancing for 2 years, and found that the hip movements allowed me to alleviate my back pain. I have suffered from a mild slipped disc, which was too small for surgery but still causing me a lot of grief. Taking up salsa allowed me to sort my back problems.

Also, meeting new people and having fun, which is the case with salsa dancing is also good for your mental health, I can only guess, I'm not a doc

[totalwise]

I have beensala dancing for 2 years, and found that the hip movements allowed me to alleviate my back pain. I have suffered from a mild slipped disc, which was too small for surgery but still causing me a lot of grief. Taking up salsa allowed me to sort my back problems.

Also, meeting new people and having fun, which is the case with salsa dancing is also good for your mental health, I can only guess, I'm not a doc

I came across an interesting youtube video on tango in finland, sorry I tried searching again but couldn;t find it. FInland is a nation of introverts, and people don't like sitting next to each other on buses and even the most trivial small talk is stressful for a lot of fins.

Obviously this will have a lot of impact on mental health, (suicide rates are highest in finland than anywhere else in the world), however because fins have a lot of trouble socialising they have a surprisingly high interest in tango, tango is a great excuse for peo[le to get very up close and personal with each other I guess, and people have been known to tango in the middle of the streets. Perhaps that would be a poojnt of interest for you.

[quolleen]

What type of dance is the best to larnn how to lead a girl? I have sometimes difficulties gaining control over a dance because of not enough confidence. What I need to learn is to "grab the girl's hand" and start dancing with her and communicate with her thru the dance. Which dance would you recommend to practice to develop this confidence?

[143scooter]

Is this still on going?
I'd like to inform my friends about this.
And I'm pretty sure they can participate in your studies as this would also help them
know certain medical reasons about the effects of dancing to their health.


Happy New Year everyone!!!

[ballroom dresses]

This project sounds interesting! I can help much but I can post this on to my blog so that may be it spread out to someone else who can help more. Cheers!

[MACEK]

Dance acts as stress reliever.Also exercise of body is done through dancing.

[Son21]

Very informative detail......thanks