Creative dance just might make you smarter. In addition to being a good workout, dancing might also sharpen your mental acuity and ward off mental disorders such as Alzheimer's disease. As an athlete, you might be wondering why this is important for you. There are correlations between dancing and cognitive improvements for athletes. Once you know more, you might consider adding creative dancing to your regular workout routine.
Decision Making
Creative dancing requires that you make split-second decisions about your next movements, according to Stanford University. Many forms of creative dance are not rehearsed and leave the individual movements up to the dancer. This improves your overall cognition, but also improves your ability to pay attention and make quick decisions. The ability to make split-second decisions is crucial in many sports because you cannot predict what the opposite team, or even what your own team, may do at any given moment.
Confidence
When you improve your ability to participate in any activity, you are likely to experience a boost in self-confidence. According to a 2009 study in "Internet Journal of Applied Health Sciences and Practice," at least 20 minutes of consecutive aerobic activity is linked to a boost in mental health. Because creative dance is a form of vigorous aerobic activity, it might help boost your confidence by also improving your mental health. As your confidence increases, you might be more willing to try new strategies when playing your sport. These new strategies can increase your enjoyment of your sport, as well as your athletic skills.
Awareness
Creative dance might increase your awareness of what is happening around you, particularly if you do creative dancing with a partner. When your dance movements rely on what another person is doing, it forces you to pay close attention to your movements. This might improve your ability to play your sport because when you are aware of what is happening around you, you are more likely to stop the opposite team from scoring. You are also more likely to score for your team. According to David J. Hargreaves, author of "Musical Imaginations," imagining yourself performing in front of an audience might also improve your ability to be aware of your surroundings. This can translate to an improved performance on the field.
Athletic Performance
The Arthur Murray Dance Studio notes that many Olympic athletes use dancing as part of their training because it helps them sharpen their control and improve their agility, speed and balance. This might hold true for your sport as well. According to a 2010 study in "Front Aging Neuroscience" journal, dancing activates several portions of the brain and forces these different areas to work together. When this occurs, you are more easily able to learn new things, such as new techniques for playing your sport successfully.
References
- Musical Imaginations; David J. Hargreaves, et al.
- Arthur Murray: Benefits of Dancing
- The New England Journal of Medicine: Leisure Activities and the Risk of Dementia in the Elderly
- Stanford University: Dancing Makes You Smarter
- Front Aging Neuroscience: Superior Sensory, Motor, and Cognitive Performance in Elderly Individuals with Multi-Year Dancing Activities
- Internet Journal of Applied Health Sciences and Practice: Depressed, Low Self-Esteem: What Can Exercise Do for You?
