Dancing is one of the many activities that allow you to sculpt a dream body. But according to an American study, this sport would not only have bodily benefits. Indeed, researchers from the University of Illinois claim that dancing would be beneficial for keeping the brain young and healthy. It would even be more effective than other sports such as walking or stretching. To arrive at this result, the researchers focused on the white matter present in the brain. This substance, which is part of the central nervous system, contains millions of communication cables, connecting neurons from one part of the brain to another. During youth, messages travel easily and quickly through these cables. But over the years, the white matter loses its effectiveness. This would slow down the circulation of messages, and would have consequences for memory and learning. It is impossible to stop the aging of the brain, but it is possible to slow it down. And this is what dance allows.
To conduct the study, the American researchers called on 174 people aged between 60 and 70, all in good health. Among these people, most of whom were sedentary, some carried out a sporting activity on an ad hoc basis. At the start of the study, the researchers invited the volunteers to take an aerobics class to test their mental and physical abilities. After a brain scan, the people were randomly divided into three groups. The first had to do brisk walking. The second had to do stretching, and the third had to dance (all activities had to be practiced for 1 hour, three times a week). For dance, country was on the program. As the New York Times reveals , the choreography became a little more complicated over the weeks. After six months of performing the different sports, the people were called back by the scientists, so that they could test their physical and mental abilities. They found that the group of dancers was the only one whose health had improved. Unlike the others, their white matter had become stronger, and in particular at the level of the fornix (the part of the brain which connects the two cerebral hemispheres, and which plays on memory and the reception of motor and emotional information). According to the researchers, it was through learning a complicated choreography that the volunteers experienced an improvement.
If dancing therefore seems to be the sport to practice to keep your brain young and healthy for the longest time, scientists point out that you should not neglect "all activities that allow you to move and socialize". The study showed that the physical and mental tests that followed the sports period were all better than the first ones:“The takeaway from this study is that we should all try not to become sedentary. People who exercised before starting the study showed the least decline in health over time. So whether it's to do hip hop, fitness or yoga, the important thing is to do sports!
