Dance training superior to physical exercise in inducing brain plasticity (2018)

Re:Dance training superior to physical exercise in inducing ... by kukkeliskuu on Friday October 04, 2024 @01:17AM (#41738064)

I have done lots of free-form couples dancing (over 20 years, several times per week, some of it in complex styles like argentine tango) and in my first-hand experience the major difference from other kinds of exercise is that you need to harmonize your movements with your partner and music, and you need to improvise. The complexity of the movement is not it, nor the "exercise".

There is lots of other research suggesting that couples dancing is more beneficial to the mental health and memory than other kinds of exercise.

That said (and having no background in an very little knowledge of MRI research), I am also skeptical like you that there would appear such clear visible signs so soon in the brain images.

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Re:Dance training superior to physical exercise in inducing ... by johtso on Friday October 04, 2024 @05:02AM (#41739345)

I also wonder if even just the close physical contact itself has a positive impact on brain chemistry.

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Re:Dance training superior to physical exercise in inducing ... by kukkeliskuu on Sunday October 06, 2024 @07:22PM (#41761236)

Yes, I think it does. But in my understanding that has been controlled in the research as well. Also, there is also a short-term downside to the physical contact. For me it took years of training to become less anxious about the proximity of another person. You are minutes at a time in hugging position with a person who can be a total stranger.

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Re:Dance training superior to physical exercise in inducing ... by Notatheist on Friday October 04, 2024 @07:52AM (#41740437)

I'm a professional dancer and music and freestyle are the most demanding aspects of dance by far.

That said I'm also skeptical. Music and dance are being compared to "bicycle ergometers" and "training with equipment such as barbells and rubber bands". I'm pretty sure only one of these groups was having any fun. Unless the dance group were forced to social dance bachata in which case the misery probably evens out.

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Re:Dance training superior to physical exercise in inducing ... by zemvpferreira on Friday October 04, 2024 @08:21AM (#41740653)

You might be surprised at how many people enjoy the feeling of grinding out improvement in the gym. In my experience it can be a lot more fun than dancing for certain personality types (mine included)

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Re:Dance training superior to physical exercise in inducing ... by mtalantikite on Friday October 04, 2024 @10:00AM (#41741496)

And for the exercise only group: > We avoided combined arm and leg movements in order to keep coordinative demands low

I'm skeptical too. You have one group that is doing something that takes full body coordination, with lots of different inputs and improvisation, versus something they attempted to minimize those aspects of. Not to mention the social parts of dancing with others.

But also hey, social dancing bachata is fun! If you're ever in NYC a good friend of mine teaches it at Pearl dance studio.

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Re:Dance training superior to physical exercise in inducing ... by kukkeliskuu on Sunday October 06, 2024 @07:44PM (#41761353)

There are various complicated social dynamics related to couples dancing that might make it less than fun for some people. You need to spend several minutes in to close proximity with a stranger, and even be able to move at the same time. It took me years to get over this. Depending on the method dance partners are selected, you might experience rejection etc.

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