Put your dancing shoes on and get ready to celebrate health. A recent study by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute found that dancing lowers your risk of heart disease, decrease blood pressure, and helps manage your weight. Even if you have two left feet you can still profit from a night on the town. Studies reveal that dancing can actually burn more calories per hour than riding a bike or swimming and with the summer months approaching this is a great relief. Sun exposure is recommended, as it provides the body with a natural dose of Vitamin D, however large amounts can be harmful and give way to skin disorders. Dancing is the perfect solution to beating the sunrays and still getting the swimsuit body you’ve been working on all year. 

How exactly does dancing affect your body? Dancing helps work muscles that you rarely use and in the process helps strengthen the bones in your legs and hips. Though muscle tone and definition are at the core of dancing, the health benefits extend from your toes to your head. A 2004 study in the Heart and Lung Journal concluded that the combination of music and exercise stimulates and increases cognitive function. If you are a music lover then let the tunes flow. According to the American Music Therapy Association, music therapy is ideal for healing brain injuries and physical or developmental disabilities. Music therapy and dance in particular is also favorable for pregnant women and the elderly struggling with Alzheimer’s or dementia as it activates parts of the brain that are not usually aroused. 

Schedule a night out instead of the morning workout and do your body and mind a favor. Here’s a breakdown of the health benefits of some popular dances, but remember, any type of dancing is better than no dancing.

Belly Dancing

• Improved posture and muscle toning

• Helps prevent lower back problems

• Tones and firms arm and shoulders

• Help prepare women for childbirth

Ballroom Dancing

• Develops the circulatory system

• Increases flexibility and balance

• Strengthens and tones legs and body

• Relieves stress

Salsa Dancing

• Builds endurance and stamina

• Helps you release toxins via sweating

• May help lower blood pressure and improve cholesterol levels

• Helps with weight loss

Dancing Off Those Calories

How many calories will you burn while dancing? Here's a range of some of the most popular varieties, based on a 150-pound person, per hour:

• Swing dancing: 235 calories/hour

• Ballroom dancing: 265

• Square dancing: 280

• Ballet: 300

• Belly dancing: 380

• Salsa dancing: 420+

• Aerobic dancing: 540+

Make your feet happy; DANCE!