Dancing Makes
You Smarter
Richard
Powers, Professor of Stanford University Dance Division
June 19, 2003
The 21-year study of senior citizens, 75 and older, was led
by the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City,
funded by the National Institute on Aging, and published in
the New England Journal of Medicine. Their method for
objectively measuring mental acuity in aging was to monitor
rates of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease. The study
wanted to see if any physical or cognitive recreational
activities influenced mental acuity. They discovered that
some activities had a significant beneficial effect. Other
activities had none. They studied cognitive activities such
as reading books, writing for pleasure, doing crossword
puzzles, playing cards and playing musical instruments. And
they studied physical activities like playing tennis or
golf, swimming, bicycling, dancing, walking for exercise and
doing housework. One of the surprises of the study was that
almost none of the physical activities appeared to offer any
protection against dementia. There can be cardiovascular
benefits of course, but the focus of this study was the
mind. There was one important exception: the only physical
activity to offer protection against dementia was frequent
dancing.
Reading - 35% reduced risk of dementia
Bicycling and swimming - 0%
Doing crossword puzzles at least four days a week – 47%
Playing golf - 0%
Dancing frequently - 76%
That was the greatest risk reduction of any activity
studied, cognitive or physical.
Why dancing?
We immediately ask two questions:
1.) Why is dancing better than other activities for
improving mental capabilities?
2.) Does this mean all kinds of dancing, or is one kind of
dancing better than another?
That's where this particular study falls short. It doesn't
answer these questions as a stand-alone study. Fortunately,
it isn't a stand-alone study. It's one of many studies, over
decades, which have shown that we increase our mental
capacity by exercising our cognitive processes.
Intelligence: Use it or lose it. And it's the other studies
which fill in the gaps in this one. Looking at all of these
studies together lets us understand the bigger picture. Some
of this is discussed here (the page you may have just came
from) which looks at intelligence in dancing. The essence of
intelligence is making decisions. And the concluding advice,
when it comes to improving your mental acuity, is to involve
yourself in activities which require split-second rapid-fire
decision making, as opposed to rote memory (retracing the
same well-worn paths), or just working on your physical
style. One way to do that is to learn something new. Not
just dancing, but anything new. Don't worry about the
probability that you'll never use it in the future. Take a
class to challenge your mind. It will stimulate the
connectivity of your brain by generating the need for new
pathways. Difficult and even frustrating classes are better
for you, as they will create a greater need for new neural
pathways. Then take a dance class, which can be even better.
Dancing integrates several brain functions at once,
increasing your connectivity. Dancing simultaneously
involves kinesthetic, rational, musical and emotional
processes.
Finally, remember that this study made another suggestion:
do it often. Seniors who did crossword puzzles four days a
week had a measurably lower risk of dementia than those who
did the puzzles once a week. If you can't take classes or go
out dancing four times a week, then dance as much as you
can. More is better. And do it now, the sooner the better. It's essential to
start building your cognitive reserve now. Some day you’ll
need as many of those stepping stones across the creek as
possible. Don't wait - start building them now.
Source:
http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa022252 |
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