Why does dancing make people healthy and happy?

Those who dance regularly improve their posture and boost their cardiovascular system, balance and coordination. Worries and stress can also be simply danced away. This is because making rhythmic body movements to music breaks down the stress hormone cortisol. "Happiness hormones" and neurotransmitters (e.g. endorphins, dopamine and serotonin) are released at the same time. In the 1940s dancing was recognised in the US as a therapy for body and mind. In the meantime, numerous studies have been carried out on the effectiveness of dancing for a range of illnesses. Whether it's for mental conditions like depression, physical illnesses like cancer, or chronic pain. Dancing works – regardless of whether you move around to music at a disco, exercise in a dance studio, or take part in an online course. Find out more about the positive effects.

Muscles: Exercise improves muscle function, enabling them to react better and more quickly to stresses. Dancing also improves coordination and releases tensions in both the short and long term.

Heart: The exercise boosts heart performance. Blood circulation is improved, and the increased oxygen supply means that the lungs work more effectively. And, incidentally, it's not just the exercise that produces these benefits. The music also has a role to play, especially music that gets louder and louder. Crescendos increase the heart rate. Music which gradually becomes quieter (a decrescendo) has a calming effect on the heart rate.

Immune system: Those who dance regularly are less likely to become ill. Exercise boosts the circulation and the heart transports more blood through the vessels, which activates the immune cells. In fact, their numbers actually increase.

Fat-burning: Dancing is a form of aerobic sport, i.e. a sport that boosts fat-burning. In addition, the rapid pace of some dances (e.g. discofox and jive) causes the body to produce many more enzymes that burn fat.

Spine and joints: Tendons and ligaments receive a better blood supply thanks to the body's rhythmic movements, which means that the joints are better protected. In addition, dancing maintains and enhances joint mobility – including joints in the spine. Those who dance regularly tend to have a more upright posture, and this helps to prevent slipped discs.

Improved memory function: Your brain receives a better blood supply, as with any form of stamina training. In this way you become alert, efficient and able to remember much more. In the course of your life, the connections between your nerve cells tend to deteriorate and the neural network becomes degraded. Dancing improves the connections between your brain cells. Coordinated rhythmic exercise keeps your brain young. Atrophied areas of the brain may even be regenerated. It has been proven that dancing improves learning ability and memory.

Hormones: Rhythmic movement boosts the production of neurotransmitters and hormones such as serotonin, dopamine and endorphins, which make us happy and creative. Greater quantities of the creativity hormone ACTH are also produced, relaxing the body and boosting mental activity. At the same time, dancing reduces the level of cortisol, a stress hormone.