Dancing can fight ageing of the brain
DANCING is better at fighting dementia and reversing signs of ageing than other fitness routines, a study has found.
Elderly volunteers were given 18-month courses of either dance or flexibility and endurance training.
Both groups showed an increase in the size of the part of the brain that plays a key role in memory and learning, and is affected by diseases like Alzheimer’s.
But only dancing led to improved balance.
Lead author Dr Kathrin Rehfeld from the German Centre for Neurodegenerative Diseases said: “We tried to give the dance group changing routines to keep them learning.”
Dr Rehfeld plans to develop new regimes that can better fight the effects of ageing on the brain.