Dancing can reverse the signs of aging in the brain

The story in Brief:

Physical exercise has an anti-aging effect on the hippocampus region of the brain – an area that controls memory, learning, and balance. A new study, comparing different forms of exercise – dancing and endurance training – undertaken by elderly volunteers for eighteen months, shows that both can have an anti-aging effect on the brain, but only dancing corresponded to a noticeable difference in behavior. This difference is attributed to the extra challenge of learning dancing routines.

A comparison of two different fitness routines shows that both can have an anti-aging effect on the brain in the elderly, but only dancing gives rise to a measurable difference in behavior.

— By Tania Fitzgeorge-Balfour