Health Benefits of Dancing

Written By Barbara Bernstein

In many shamanic societies, people who complain of being disheartened...or depressed would be asked, 'When did you stop dancing?' …This is because dancing is a universal healing salve." - Gabrielle Roth

All dancers know the feeling...  The elation that comes from moving to music in rhythm, the relaxation that results from concentrating on the beat and forgetting one's cares.

THE CHEAPEST, MOST PLEASURABLE MEDICAL INTERVENTION AROUND: SYNCHRONOUS GROUP MOVEMENT!
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“THE SNYCHRONY AND THE ECSTASY”

My Personal Story & “Mystical Experience(?!)”

I was raised with a strong emphasis on academic success—taught to be scientific and to believe in hard data. So when I had a “mystical healing experience,” it rocked my world… It happened when I was in college at the University of Chicago.  There were lots of extra-curricular "foreign folk dance" classes on campus. I loved to dance, so I took them all! One day, a folk dance teacher announced that auditions would be held for a performing Balkan dance troupe. I immediately signed up to audition but got really sick the night before. I had a sore throat, runny nose, sneezing, etc. The auditions were only held every other year, so I went anyway.

It was a grueling experience.  We danced for several hours straight, learning long, complex moves that were done in synchrony by all the dancers, holding hands in a line. I was so laser-focused on the dance steps, I barely noticed the time passing. Hours later, I left the audition sweaty and exhausted, and as I walked outside into the cold Chicago winter, I realized my sore throat was completely gone.  My nose wasn’t running, and I wasn’t sneezing. I was totally back to normal. And the illness did not return.  For decades, I thought of this as my life’s one mystical experience.

The next week I got word that I did not pass the audition. I was disappointed but continued taking many folk dance classes throughout college and always loved them!

Now, as a full-time Latin dance teacher, I better understand what happened to me that day.  The fact is that I have come to my Salsa class many times with a sore foot, a strained knee, or just feeling worn out.  But like magic, during and after class, I feel astonishingly better. Nothing hurts and I have loads of energy.

The Science at Work

I teach Rueda de Casino”, a group Latin dance where the whole class forms a circle and dances together in synchrony.   I always feel better when I leave class, but there’s plenty of science to explain this. 

We have long known that exercise, listening to favorite music, and socializing all lift people’s mood and improve well-being.  There is also research on the additional benefits of being part of a group moving in synchrony. For example, a study was done in which scientists set up a “silent disco.” Volunteers learned moves and then danced them in groups.  Each volunteer wore headphones through which music and verbal instructions could be heard.  One group of volunteers was taught dance steps that they all did in synchrony. Another group did the moves, but dancers did them in a different order, so they weren’t in synch. A final group heard different music through their headphones so they weren’t in the same rhythm, plus individual dancers did the moves in a different order.

The researchers found that the first group, which danced in synchrony, had much higher pain tolerance after dancing.  Pain tolerance, commonly considered an indication of endorphin release (“feel good” chemicals in the body), was measured by squeezing a blood pressure cuff before and after dancing.  The synchronous dancers could withstand significantly more pain after dancing. That group also had greater feelings of closeness and community than dancers in the non-synchronous groups.

Another interesting finding was that this effect was stronger when the synchronous movements required more exertion.  In other words, dancing faster had more impact than dancing slowly!

These findings don’t surprise me a bit. I’ve seen "up close and personal" the tremendous benefits that synchronized group dancing confers on people. (It’s called “muscular bonding.”) This builds community and improves mood and health. When a group dances together, the experience is exhilarating!  

Indeed, I have routinely seen my students become fast friends and hang out together outside of class. At the end of every week, text messages flew, as they decided where the best venue was to meet up and go out dancing. Every Rueda group I’ve seen develops remarkably warm connections.  

On an individual level, many of my students have told me about experiences similar to my own…  I’ve been told that the Rueda class has helped some students alleviate depression as surely as a medical intervention. I’ve also been told that becoming part of the Rueda group made the difference in feeling at home in the area, after moving from out of town. Countless people have told me it’s the brightest time in their week. And I literally know of two East Coast colleagues who don’t know each other, but they both had a dance studio that they named “Dance Therapy Studio!”

Why This Is Important In Modern Life

Research has shown that people have become lonelier and more socially isolated (i.e., fewer social connections) over the last several decades. Loneliness is a subjective state of feeling. Social connection is more objective and encompasses matters such as how many people one talks to in a day, whether one lives alone or with others, etc.

This trend toward being more alone was described by Harvard Professor Robert Putnam in his seminal book, "Bowling Alone,” published in 2000.  Putnam said that bowling leagues, Elks Lodges, neighborhood card games, PTA participation, and even regular family dinners had all declined since the 1970s. In addition to joining fewer clubs and organizations, people were less connected to neighbors and had fewer friends and confidantes than a few decades ago.  And people reported having less trust in strangers.

Bowling Alone was published some years ago, but the issue of social connection is still important today.  A May 2018 Cigna Insurance Company survey of 20,000 adults found that roughly half viewed themselves as lonely according to the UCLA Loneliness Scale.  Surprisingly,  younger generations were harder hit than the elderly.   There has been some thought that the use of devices creates more superficial relationships than face-to-face interactions, though there isn’t widespread agreement on this.

The impact of loneliness and isolation is severe and is correlated with significant health risks. On average, it has been reported that people who say they feel lonely have a 26 percent increased risk of death compared to those who are not lonely. Those who live alone have a 32 percent increased risk of death, and those who are socially isolated have a 29 percent increased risk of death.

In the Harvard Business Review, former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy quantified these risks by saying that loneliness and weak social connections are factors “associated with a reduction in lifespan similar to that caused by smoking 15 cigarettes a day and even greater than that associated with obesity!” 

Meta-Study Results & The Mechanisms at Work

A meta-study is a “study of studies,” which means it includes a very large number of subjects. These health issues were examined in a 2016 meta-study that reviewed 23 separate studies involving a total of 181,000 adults.  Among this group, 4,628 heart-related events (e.g., heart attacks, angina attacks, etc) and approximately 3,000 strokes were recorded. The data showed that loneliness/social isolation was associated with a 29% increased risk of heart or angina attacks and a 32% increased risk of a stroke. The authors cautioned that the correlation that was found does not necessarily imply causation. The causal relationship could go in the other direction, or there could be a third factor involved, which is the actual cause. Hopefully, more studies may help unravel these relationships. But the results certainly legitimize the public health concerns about the importance of social contact.

CNN reporter Dr. Sanjay Gupta has suggested that society start viewing loneliness as another chronic disease that requires long-term treatment strategies. The mechanism by which social isolation is bad for health may be that lonely people feel chronically threatened and vulnerable, unleashing an ongoing "fight or flight" response.  As a result, the stress hormone cortisol would become chronically high, and that is connected to cardiovascular disease, stroke, and hypertension. Stress also elevates levels of a protein in the body called fibrinogen, which prepares for possible injury or blood loss. But too much fibrinogen raises blood pressure and causes fatty deposits in the arteries, which can eventually lead to heart attacks and stroke.  

The reality is that even if an individual is not particularly disconnected or lonely, all lives have some component of these feelings.  The UCLA Loneliness Scale recognizes that some level of loneliness is part of normal life experience. This suggests that participating in synchronous movement activities is a good way to boost well-being for people in general.

Conclusion

The takeaway message here is that synchronous group movement, such as group dancing, is a powerful tool for improving well-being. And if you don’t like to dance, that’s not a problem. Studies have shown that rowing in synchrony elevates pain threshold compared to rowing alone. Walking in step with others, choral singing, synchronized boat rowing, and synchronized swimming---all have been found to enhance social bonding. (Some walkers instinctively synchronize their steps to aid communication!) Many experiments have shown that rhythmic synchrony leads to interpersonal synchrony, even in dealing with babies! Even small movements, like tapping your fingers in time with someone else, make you feel more trusting of them than if you tapped out of time!!  

So join a band, or better yet, a marching band, a church choir, or take walks with friends and step in unison… Maybe take a Rueda de Casino or Salsa class!! These are all great ways to enhance social connection and well-being!   

Barbara Bernstein
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Team Building Through Music, Rhythm & Movement