Some of you may be aware that Michael Mosley currently has a series on BBC Radio 4 called “Just One Thing”. The series aims to find out what small things you can do to improve your health and wellbeing. If you only had time to do one thing to improve your health, what would it be? Michael discovers some surprising things that are scientifically proven to improve your life.

In a recent episode, Michael decides to investigate dancing and its effects on health. He discovers the many benefits of getting out on the dance floor. Amongst other things, he reveals that dancing has been shown to be even better than traditional fitness exercises for improving muscle tone, heart health, bone strength, balance and even the size of your brain! He speaks to a former professional ballet dancer (Dr Julia F Christensen), who is now a neuroscientist at the Max Planck Institute in Frankfurt. She explains how scientific research shows that dancing can improve your coordination and balance. It even triggers creates pathways in your brain! A member of the public (Lorne) is the guinea pig who does a bit of dancing every day for a week to see what happens…

In turns out that Julia Christensen has written a book called “Dancing Is the Best Medicine: The Science of How Moving To a Beat Is Good for Body, Brain, and Soul.” The book explains how dance can help to prevent and manage pain and illnesses such as diabetes, arthritis, back pain, and Parkinson’s. Dance can be at least as effective as high intensity interval training, but without the associated strain on your heart and your joints. It’s proven to boost immunity, lower stress and help reduce inflammation. Dance positively impacts the gut microbiome, and aids in digestion, weight loss, and digestive issues such as IBS. Of course, one of the best things we can do for our health is also one of the most fun! And dance is something anyone can do.

You can listen to Michael Mosley’s full podcast episode on Radio 4 by clicking below:

 
Then head over to our timetable to find out what’s on here at Danceworks Devon, and get dancing!