Keep Dancing!
The benefits of music for engaging people living with dementia is widely known, but did you know that by incorporating dancing into your day, the physical and cognitive stimulation maximizes the impact on neuroplasticity and cognition?
A study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that dancing can reduce the risk of the onset of dementia. By measuring the mental alertness, as a way to monitor the rate of dementia in a 21 year study of adults 75 and older, the study found that dancing significantly reduced the risk of dementia by 76%.
Dr. Robert Katzman found that memorizing the sequencing of the steps in dances such as foxtrot, waltz, or the swing, requires constant spilt second decisions and your brain requires greater cognitive processing and will increase the neuronal synapses.
Dance also can help reduce the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. Dancing can improve motor skills when dancing and the Argentine Tango showed improved spatial awareness and memory. Expressive therapies such as visual arts and music and movement helps persons living with dementia express themselves, and dance can do the same. Benefits also include reducing anxiety, increased mobility, and can trigger pleasant memories.
When supporting person’s living with cognitive decline and memory loss, making sure their social, physical, cognitive and expressive needs are met improves quality of life. What better activity to address all those need than when dancing!
If you would like more information on our Memory Ministry, Memory Cafe, or our Family and Friends Education Workshops, please contact Vicky Pitner at vpitner@firstumc.org.