It wasn’t until my late 40s that I took up dance lessons.
I admit that it was an attempt to meet women, without embarrassing myself too badly. And as an ageing marathon runner, I realized that I could be super fit, but move like a spastic. Whereas, a good dance could be fit AND move with finesse.
It was also okay to be a guy and a good dancer. In his book, Diagnostic Body Building, Michael H. Brown he mentions how his strength gains improved and his injured hip recovered when taking Latin dance classes. Also, the great martial artist, Bruce Lee won a cha-cha competition in high school and boxer Sugar Ray Robinson used to dance for change as a teen. Neither of those guys were sissies.
And I met all sorts of good dancers. From tall elegant women to old guys with beer guts. They move with grace and coordination that I still struggle to emulate.
What is really fascinating is the effects of Latin dancing on the human hormonal system.
Psychology Professors Cynthia Ouiroga Murcia Phd and Stephan Bongard from the Goethe University Frankfurt and Musicology professor Gunter Kreutz from the Carl von Ossietzky University conducted a study on the effects of tango dancing on dancers’ stress hormonal levels. They did this by regularly testing the cortisol and testosterone levels of the dancers’ saliva.
(As you might know, cortisol is meant to protect the body from inflammation, but often causes high blood pressure and weight gain. And testosterone builds muscle in men.)
The researchers found:
1. Passive listening to music, tended to increase testosterone in women and lower testosterone in men. But, active tango dancing did not effect the testosterone levels in either dancer. (So, guys who dance are protecting their testosterone levels.)
2. The tango dancing is a moderate activity at about 55% exertion capacity for most people. These means the tango dancers burned less Calories than the nightclub style of dancers. But, the tango dancers produced less stress and therefore little cortisol.
Now it gets really interesting.
3. Regular dancing with a partner and music lowered the cortisol levels in both the male and female dancers.
4. Dancing alone or without music was significantly less beneficial than dancing with a partner and with the music.
And it gets even better.
Long term Latin dancing has been shown to improve cognitive abilities. Professor Susan Aguiñaga, a professor of kinesiology and community health at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign conducted a study of seniors (averaging 65 years old) and Latin dancing. During the first four months, there was little difference in memory or cognitive skills between the dancers and the control group. But, after eight months, the dancers showed significantly better memory and recall.
Therefore, you can improve your fitness, confidence, AND cognitive ability by taking up Latin or ballroom dancing.
Is it any mystery that many good dancers live tend to live long and enjoy themselves?
Learn more about longevity methods in Flat Gut After 50.
