Dancing makes you smarter

Did you watch the BBC The Truth About … Getting Fit ON BBC 1?

Xpress-Yourself are very aware of the many physical benefits of dance; it can improve strength, balance, flexibility and provide a great cardio workout. It can also improve your mental health by boosting your overall happiness but did you realise that it can also make you smarter.

Medical journalist Michael Mosley teams up with scientists whose latest research is turning common knowledge about fitness on its head. During the BBC 1 programme The Truth About … Getting Fit, Medical journalist Michael Mosley teams up with scientists whose latest research is turning common knowledge about fitness on its head and even claims that dancing actually does make you smarter. With the help of cognitive scientists various tests are completed with people before and after they attend a 30 minute salsa dance class. Decision making, the ability to anticipate moving objects and the working memory were all tested and all saw an improvement after the dance class.

Professor Micheal Duncan concluded that dance is beneficial for the brain as dancers have to think about the steps and the pattern whilst staying in time with the music. This means that during dancing a lot of cognitive manipulation is exercised whilst also being physically exerted.

So dust off your dancing shoes and get on the dance floor!

If you missed The Truth About … Getting Fit you can find it on BBC iplayer until the end of February 2018.