ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE STUDY
The strategy, muscle coordination and memory you use to learn and perform dance routines flex your brain as much as your body. Besides improving mental functioning, dancing can prevent Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia. Researchers from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City examined how the tango or foxtrot improved cognitive activity. They tested subjects aged 75 and older over 21 years. Dancing a few times a week helped decrease the likelihood of dementia occurring by 76 percent. A study of elderly participants published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that frequent dancing increased mental acuity. Dancing and listening to music also help your brain process thoughts better. For anyone reading Jacqueline Marshall’s article in Health Today in Nov. 2017 ‘Dancing and Diabetes’. ‘Ballroom dancing, helps those with diabetes lower their blood sugar, improve insulin sensitivity, and protect their cardiovascular health. Dancing also enhances muscle tone, balance, flexibility, energy, and mood.