1Dancing is something that humans do when they want to have a good time.
2It's a universal response to music, found in all cultures.
3But what's only been discovered recently is that dancing not only makes us feel good,
4it's also extremely good for our health.
5Dancing, like other forms of exercise, releases hormones, such as dopamine,
6which make us feel relaxed and happy.
7And it also reduces feelings of stress or anxiety.
8Dancing is also a sociable activity,
9which is another reason it makes us feel good.
10One study compared people's enjoyment of dancing at home in front of a video with dancing in a group in a studio.
11The people dancing in a group reported feeling happier,
12whereas those dancing alone did not.
13In another experiment, university researchers at York and Sheffield
14took a group of students and sent each of them into a lab where music was played for five minutes.
15Each had to choose from three options:
16to sit and listen quietly to the music,
17to cycle on an exercise bike while they listened,
18or to get up and dance.
19All were given cognitive tasks to perform before and after.
20The result showed that those who chose to dance showed much more creativity when doing problem-solving tasks.
21Doctor Lovatt at the University of Hertfordshire
22believes dance could be a very useful way to help people suffering from mental health problems.
23He thinks dance should be prescribed as therapy
24to help people overcome issues such as depression.
25It's well established that dance is a good way of encouraging adolescent girls to take exercise
26but what about older people?
27Studies have shown that there are enormous benefits for people in their 60s and beyond.
28One of the great things about dance is that there are no barriers to participation.
29Anyone can have a go,
30even those whose standard of fitness is quite low.
31Dance can be especially beneficial for older adults
32who can't run or do more intense workouts,
33or for those who don't want to.
34One 2015 study found that even a gentle dance workout helps to promote a healthy heart.
35And there's plenty of evidence which suggests that dancing lowers the risk of falls,
36which could result in a broken hip, for example, by helping people to improve their balance.
37There are some less obvious benefits of dance for older people too.
38One thing I hadn't realised before researching this topic
39was that dance isn't just a physical challenge.
40It also requires a lot of concentration
41because you need to remember different steps and routines.
42For older people, this kind of activity is especially important
43because it forces their brain to process things more quickly
44and to retain more information.
45Current research also shows that dance promotes a general sense of well-being in older participants,
46which can last up to a week after a class.
47Participants report feeling less tired and having greater motivation to be more active
48and do daily activities such as gardening or walking to the shops or a park.
49Ballroom or country dancing, both popular with older people, have to be done in groups.
50They require collaboration and often involve touching a dance partner,
51all of which encourages interaction on the dance floor.
52This helps to develop new relationships
53and can reduce older people's sense of isolation,
54which is a huge problem in many countries.
55I also looked at the benefits of Zumba.
56Fifteen million people in 180 countries now regularly take a Zumba class,
57an aerobic workout based on Latin American dance moves.
58John Porcari, a professor of exercise and sport science at the University of Wisconsin,
59analysed a group of women who were Zumba regulars
60and found that a class lasting 40 minutes burns about 370 calories.
61This is similar to moderately intense exercises like step aerobics or kickboxing.
62A study in the American Journal of Health Behavior
63showed that when women with obesity did Zumba three times a week for 16 weeks,
64they lost an average of 1.2 kilos
65and lowered their percentage of body fat by 1%.
66More importantly, the women enjoyed the class so much
67that they made it a habit and continued to attend classes at least once a week -
68very unusual for an aerobic exercise programme.
69Dance is never going to compete with high-intensity workouts
70when it comes to physical fitness gains,
71but its popularity is likely to keep on rising
72because it's such a fun way to keep fit.