| We already know that line dancing, as a physical | | | | When you are line dancing, you can do this the |
| exercise, is good for our bodies. It's also good for our | | | | following ways: |
| brains because it raises the level of serotonin, which | | | | - Dance with "style." Add new steps, be creative, be |
| makes us feel good. People who run or jog call this a | | | | spontaneous! |
| "runner's high." | | | | - Constantly learn new line dances and line dance |
| And that's great, but it doesn't halt the loss of | | | | steps. Challenge yourself. |
| sharpness of our minds or increase our intelligence. | | | | - Teach line dance instructions to others. Pay attention |
| A study done a few years ago, funded by the | | | | to what your students are doing. Observe what's easy |
| National Institute on Aging, which was published in the | | | | for them and what's hard. Change things to fit the |
| New England Journal of Medicine, set out to determine | | | | moment. Stay flexible so you can make quick |
| if there were specific activities, physical and/or mental, | | | | decisions based upon what's going on. |
| that would halt the loss of our "mental acuity" - mental | | | | Here are some other ways to increase your |
| sharpness - and/or possibly improve it. | | | | intelligence, both temporary and permanent: |
| They studied a variety of physical and mental activities | | | | - Someone told me when I was very young that the |
| and, of all the physical activities they included in their | | | | best way to keep your brain from getting old was to |
| study, they found that the only one that helped reduce | | | | always be learning something new. This has been |
| the risk of losing our mental sharpness was frequent | | | | proven over and over since then by many different |
| dancing. Playing golf, riding a bicycle, running, jogging - | | | | studies. Take classes in subjects that interest you and |
| none of these made the cut. But frequent dancing | | | | challenge you. Never stop learning. |
| reduced the risk of deteriorating mental sharpness by | | | | - Meditate, either the traditional way or with one of the |
| a whopping 76%. It does this, in part, by rewiring the | | | | new CD meditation programs. Either way, your neural |
| neural pathways in our brains that we have lost over | | | | pathways will begin to rewire themselves. This not only |
| time. | | | | makes your brain sharper, you'll find that you handle |
| But what's important to us, and addresses the question | | | | stressful situations much better. |
| above, is that studies since then have shown that, not | | | | - Listen to good classical music, such as Mozart, |
| only does dancing reverse the loss of these neural | | | | Vivaldi, Beethoven. This can temporarily improve your |
| pathways, it actually creates new pathways. So, even | | | | IQ. |
| if you're young and haven't begin to have "brain fade", | | | | - Exercise, as mentioned before. This increases the |
| you will benefit by getting more connections in your | | | | oxygen supply to your brain enabling you to think more |
| brain, which will not only give you reserves for later, but | | | | clearly. Deep breathing does the same thing. |
| make you smarter now. | | | | - Read more. Learn to speed read. Work crossword |
| But there's more to improving your mental sharpness | | | | puzzles or other word games several times a week. |
| by line dancing than just getting out on the dance floor | | | | Do anything that makes you think! |
| and mindlessly repeating the same old steps over and | | | | So, to answer our original question, "Can Line Dancing |
| over. Further studies indicated that we must THINK. | | | | Make Us Smarter?" The answer is definitely "YES" as |
| Thinking, problem solving, and split-second | | | | long as you engage your mind in your line dancing as |
| decision-making are some of the brain activities you | | | | well as your body! |
| need to do to improve, and/or repair, your brain. | | | | |