The Benefits of Dance for Your Health

Through participation in regular exercise an individual is able to improve or maintain their health and well being. There are many physiological benefits of exercise, these include:

• The heart becomes more efficient at pumping blood around the body, thus reducing resting heart rate.
• The heart muscle and blood vessels of the body become stronger and healthier.
• The combined effect of increasing the capacity and health of the heart and blood vessels, blood pressure can be reduced and controlled.  
• The efficiency of the respiratory system in extracting oxygen increases.
• The body’s muscles become stronger and healthier, enabling the individual to be more highly active on a regular basis and more capable of resisting minor muscular aliments such as fatigue and stiffness.
• By applying stress to the skeleton women are able to reduce the chances of osteoporosis occurring or limit its effects.
• Regular physical activity is also capable of maintaining or controlling an individual’s weight.

The many different styles of dance present excellent examples of physical exercise that, under the correct conditions and supervision, can help any participant fulfil any of the health benefits listed here plus many more. Furthermore, by actively participating in dance an individual can also enjoy lower levels of stress, a chance to socialise and an opportunity to exercise the mind. All of which contribute to a healthier mind and body.

David Coleman
Centre for Sports Medicine and Human Performance
Brunel University
Middlesex, U.K.