Dancing for heart health

Heart Research UK Healthy Heart Tip, written by the Health Promotion and Education Team at Heart UK

Healthy Heart Tip: Dancing for heart health

Strictly Come Dancing is now back on your screens and regularly being watched by around 10 million people. Dancing is a fun and enjoyable form of exercise that is great for your heart, but only 17% of adults in the UK engage in it.

Whether you’re dancing at home in the kitchen, in a dance class or out with your friends, it is a great way to keep your heart, body and mind healthy.

Dance is an accessible sport that can be cheap and fun to do at your own desired intensity and has an added social benefit of bringing people together.

This healthy tip shares the benefits of dancing for your health:

Heart health benefits

Dancing is an endurance activity that increases your heart rate and improves your cardiovascular fitness.

When carried out regularly it increases your heart’s strength and helps you to maintain a healthy body weight, which supports healthy blood pressure. Dancing is also great for keeping your arteries clear from plaque build-up through increasing your HDL (good) cholesterol levels.

Other health benefits

There are many other benefits to dancing too. The physical benefits include increasing muscle mass, energy, balance and flexibility.

Other health benefits include improvements in mental health such as reducing depression, decreasing anxiety levels and enhancing both sleep and stress.

Recent studies have found an association between dancing and improved brain health through reductions in the risk of dementia.

Socialising

Dancing is a great way to socialise with your friends and family, whilst being able to meet new people.

Why not make an evening of it?

Put on some music and de-stress from life allowing the music to take control.