We already know that line dancing, as a physical exercise, is good for our bodies. It’s also good for our brains because it raises the level of serotonin, which makes us feel good. People who run or jog call this a “runner’s high.”

And that’s great, but it doesn’t halt the loss of sharpness of our minds or increase our intelligence.

Some Studies. . .

A study done a few years ago, funded by the National Institute on Aging, which was published in the New England Journal of Medicine, set out to determine if there were specific activities, physical and/or mental, that would halt the loss of our “mental acuity” – mental sharpness – and/or possibly improve it.

They studied a variety of physical and mental activities and, of all the physical activities they included in their study, they found that the only one that helped reduce the risk of losing our mental sharpness was frequent dancing. Playing golf, riding a bicycle, running, jogging – none of these made the cut. But frequent dancing reduced the risk of deteriorating mental sharpness by a whopping 76%. It does this, in part, by rewiring the neural pathways in our brains that we have lost over time.

But what’s important to us, and addresses the question above, is that studies since then have shown that, not only does dancing reverse the loss of these neural pathways, it actually creates new pathways. So, even if you’re young and haven’t begin to have “brain fade”, you will benefit by getting more connections in your brain, which will not only give you reserves for later, but make you smarter now.

But There’s More. . .

But there’s more to improving your mental sharpness by line dancing than just getting out on the dance floor and mindlessly repeating the same old steps over and over. Further studies indicated that we must THINK. Thinking, problem solving, and split-second decision-making are some of the brain activities you need to do to improve, and/or repair, your brain.

When you are line dancing, you can do this the following ways:

• Dance with “style.” Add new steps, be creative, be spontaneous!
• Constantly learn new line dances and line dance steps. Challenge yourself.
• Teach line dance instructions to others. Pay attention to what your students are doing. Observe what’s easy for them and what’s hard. Change things to fit the moment. Stay flexible so you can make quick decisions based upon what’s going on.

Try These Ways to Increase YOUR Intelligence:

Here are some other ways to increase your intelligence, both temporary and permanent:

• Someone told me when I was very young that the best way to keep your brain from getting old was to always be learning something new. This has been proven over and over since then by many different studies. Take classes in subjects that interest you and challenge you. Never stop learning.
• Meditate, either the traditional way or with one of the new
  CD meditation programs. Either way, your neural pathways will begin to rewire themselves. This not only makes your brain sharper, you’ll find that you handle stressful situations much better.
• photo credit: Larry Page
• Listen to good classical music, such as Mozart, Vivaldi, Beethoven. This can temporarily improve your IQ.
• Exercise, as mentioned before. This increases the oxygen supply to your brain enabling you to think more clearly. Deep breathing does the same thing.
• Read more. Learn to speed read. Work crossword puzzles or other word games several times a week. Do anything that makes you think!

So, to answer the question, “Can Line Dancing Make YOU Smarter?” The answer is definitely “YES” as long as you engage your mind in your line dancing as well as your body!

Learn how Scooter Lee and Jo Thompson are helping Seniors become healthier with their non-profit organization, Dancing for the Dream here: Scooter Lee Loves Senior Citizens!

Click here: “I love LINE DANCING!” to buy great line dance videos for YOURSELF or your friends!

Can Taking Line Dance Instructions Make YOU Smarter? is a post from: Line Dance Instructions blog where you can get information on line dancing, step sheets, terminology, and more!