Mental Benefits of Ballroom Dancing

by: Carla Morris

How long will it be until your memory begins to fade? When will the ability to take care of your most basic needs be put into the hands of others? These are questions that worry many at some point their lives because an estimated 4.2 to 5.8 million Americans have Alzheimer's disease and it is projected that almost 16 million Americans may have it by mid-century, according to the Alzheimer's Foundation of America. Current research from the National Institue on Aging indicates that the prevalence of Alzheimer's disease doubles every five years beyond age 65.

"Alzheimer's disease is a progressive brain disorder that gradually destroys a person's memory and ability to learn, reason, make judgments, communicate and carry out daily activities," according to the Alzheimer's Associations.

Luckily, ballroom dancing has been shown to lower the risk of problems like the dreaded Alzheimer's.

Eli Lankford, a faculty member in the Exercise and Sport Science department at Brgham Young University-Idaho, says "Exercise is shown to reduce the risk of decreased cognitive function later in life and protect angainst Alzheimer's disease". Landford has a B.S. in Exercise and Sport Science from the University of Utah, a M.S. in Health and Human Performance from the University of Montana and is a Doctoral candidate in Esercise Science from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. He has also spoken at several national American College of Sports Medicind conferences regarding esercise, metabolism and energy expenditure.

Research has found found that the best form of esercise to prevent most types of dementia is ballroom dancing.

A study printed in the 2003 New England Journal of Medicine involved observing 469 men and women who were at least 75 years old and were studied for an average of 5.1 years each. The researchers, headed by Dr. Joe Verghese, MD, a professor of neurology at Albert Einstien College of Medicine in New York, wanted to determine whether physical activity played a part in the onset of dementia, or if mental activity was an important factor.

They monitored cognitive activites such as reading, crosswork puzzles, learning to play a musical instrument, as well as physical activities such as housework and different forms of esercise. The group found that over all, those who were mentally active were 75 percent less likely to develop dementia. Though phsycial activity had less of an impact, the most effective activity was ballroom dancing, which lowered the risk by 76 percent, making it better than just regular exercise.

"The requirements of Ballroom Dancing -- remembering steps, moving in precise time to the music and adapting to the movements of one's partner-are mentally demanding exercises. Therefore, Ballroom Dancing offers both physical and mental stimulation", Dr. Verghese says.

Some other possibilities Dr. Verghese gave for the impressive results from ballroom dancing include increased blood flow to the brain from the physical exercise and less stress and depression because of the social aspect of dancing.

Lankford feels dancing is successful in preventing Alzheimer's because it is fun to do.

"I would comment on the fact that most people think of exercise as walking, running, or bicycling. A lot of times people don't exercise, or quit exercising because it is not fun for them. Dance is a good alternative because it is enjoyable and habit forming", Lankford says.

So even though you may not be able to answer the question of how long you will be able to remember everything and take care of yourself, you can be assured that you are doing something to preserve your body and mind as you frequently visit the dance floor.