#114: 💃🏽 Dance for Better Brain Health
How Dance Improves Brain Function, Mood, and More
Hey Friends….
This is the last Nina’s Notes of 2024.
Nina’s Notes is back on January 15.
I only take a break from the newsletter & podcast once a year, during the holiday season to rest and recharge, so that I can come back in 2025 with loads of amazing topics.
If you’re looking for some time to catch up on Nina’s Notes content - now is your chance.
I recommend 3 of the most read posts of 2024:
Happy Holidays!
Happy New Year!
See you in 2025!
Xo
Nina
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💬 In this note:
💃🏽 Dance on the Brain
📚 Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop
⚡️ Whoops Adds Psychedelics Tracking
💃🏽 Dance for Better Brain Health
Dance isn’t just about moving to the beat.
Dance is one of the few things we can do that activates and integrates the mental, the physical and the emotional, together in perfect harmony.
And science backs it up: dancing is amazing for your health, your brain, and your mood.
Dance Your Way to a Sharper Mind
A 2003 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, looked at how leisure time activities affected older individual’s chances of developing dementia.
Of the 11 forms of physical exercise examined, dance was the only one shown to reduce an individual's chance of developing dementia.
Why?
Because it combines social connection and mental effort, giving your brain a full workout.
Even Zumba, the Latin-inspired dance workout, has been shown to boost mood and cognitive abilities like decision-making and visual recognition.
Dancing also lowers stress, raises serotonin (the feel-good chemical), and even encourages the growth of new brain connections in areas tied to long-term memory, executive function and spatial awareness.
Movement as Therapy
Dancing has been found to be therapeutic for patients with Parkinson’s disease.
Over 1 million people in the United States live with Parkinson’s with another 60,000 diagnosed each year.
Parkinson’s is a movement disorder which develops when the dopamine-producing cells in the brain are lost.
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter which is essential for controlling movement and coordination.
As Parkinson’s progresses, the number of dopamine-producing cells die off, drastically reducing the amount of dopamine available to the brain.
The primary motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease include bradykinesia (slowed movement), stiffness of the limbs and trunk, tremors, and impaired balance and coordination.
Dance can help.
It acts as rhythmic auditory stimulation (RAS), using fixed beats to guide movement.
Studies show that patients with Parkinson’s who use rhythmic cues, walk and move better.
Dance can improve balance, gait, and even upper body function. It gives rhythm back to a body that’s lost its flow.
Dance Sharpens Discipline and Concentration
Dance is not only beneficial as therapy for Parkinson’s, but also for general health.
It’s a brain health booster.
High-intensity aerobic exercise like dancing increases blood flow to muscles, lungs, and yes, the brain.
But dance takes it further.
The focus needed for dance strengthens the mind-body connection.
It renews and enhances the neural connections that allow the brain to interact with the body’s muscles.
Dancers coordinate their moves with rhythm and music, sharpening concentration and building present-moment awareness.
Dancing can induce a “flow state,” which is characterized by intense focus and immersion in the action.
In this state, dancers are fully immersed in the here and now, performing at their peak.
Dance as an Antidepressant
Feeling stressed?
Dance.
It.
Out.
Dancing releases endorphins, those feel-good chemicals that lower tension, anxiety, and even symptoms of depression.
When your body feels good, your mind does too.
But it’s not just about moving, it’s about belonging.
Dance brings people together.
In shared steps and shared passion, dancers form a community.
This sense of connection, collaboration, and celebration enhances well-being and creates joy.
So, let’s dance. 🕺🏾
For your body.
For your brain.
For your happiness.
📚 Book of the Week
Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-reum
Rating: ★★★★☆
Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop is a gentle, heartwarming tale that wraps you in the quiet charm of everyday life in a small, unassuming bookshop.
The story follows the journey of a woman rediscovering herself after a life-changing loss, and the bookshop becomes a sanctuary. Not just for her, but for the colorful cast of characters who wander through its doors.
What stands out is the emotional depth. Without being overly sentimental, the author paints a picture of loss, healing and the connections we make along the way.
The slow pace might not be for everyone. The plot is less about dramatic twists and more about the main character’s inner transformation and the subtle shifts in her life.
For readers that enjoy introspective, character-driven stories, this one is for you.
I really enjoyed this tender and uplifting read. Grab a cup of tea, find a cozy spot, and let this story remind you of the healing power of friendship.
This was a recommendation by Merlin! Thanks Merlin!
⚡️ Check This Out
WHOOP, the wearable maker, just leveled up health tracking by adding psychedelics to its Journal feature.
Fully customizable, the WHOOP Journal lets you log over 100 behaviors, from acupuncture to sex and journaling habits.
They want to see how everyday habits shape your biometrics. And now, the Journal feature includes ketamine, LSD, and psilocybin.
This isn’t a new idea from WHOOP.
Back in 2020, they partnered with SEAL Future Foundation, to study how psychedelics impact the physiology of veterans with PTSD.
WHOOP also teamed back in 2020 with Field Trip Health, a psychedelic therapy provider, to measure the effect of psychedelic therapies on physiology and mental health with the WHOOP strap 3.0.
Since then, Field Trip Health shuttered clinics before being acquired by trauma care company Stella.
In lieu of the on-going partnership, WHOOP rolled out the psychedelic Journaling feature.
If you have a WHOOP band, go into the Journal feature to check this one out.
Edited by Wright Time Publishing