Shaking it on the dance floor (or in your living room) isn’t just fun—dancing is good for you! The combination of physical, mental, and emotional benefits of dancing makes dance for health and fitness possibly one of the best exercises you can do. 

Physical Benefits of Dancing

First and foremost, dancing is a workout. Working out helps you strengthen your bones and muscles, burn calories, and lose weight. Depending on the type of dancing you do, you can burn between 300 and 500 calories per hour. 

Plus, dancing requires very little equipment so that anyone can start easily. It makes a great hobby in addition to exercise. 

Dancing for health and fitness can get your heart racing and your blood pumping, making it an effective form of aerobic exercise. Aerobic exercise can help you strengthen your heart, clear your arteries, and live longer. 

That’s right. Combined with a healthy diet, you can dance your way to longevity. 

Dancing is also a form of anaerobic exercise because, in addition to moving, dance also requires you to hold positions and balance. Anaerobic exercise helps burn fat, build muscle, and boost your metabolism. 

But the benefits of dancing go so much deeper. Dancing can:

• Help you improve flexibility.

• Help improve bone density.

• Engage and strengthen muscles and tendons.

Time even reports that dancing may improve the white matter in your brain. 

Clearly, dancing is good for you. If you’re feeling inspired to add some dance to your workout regimen, let Jo+Jax help you do it in style with classy, comfortable workout clothes. And while you’re at it, you can grab some dance clothes for your kids, too. 

Mental and Emotional Benefits

Dancing doesn’t just help you get in your cardio, it can also have huge benefits for your mental health. Dancing allows you to practice self-expression and can help improve self-esteem. 

The endorphins released when you dance for health and fitness can boost your mood and help combat depression and anxiety. In the 1980s, scientists conducted experiments to see which activities could help decrease anxiety. They found that dance training significantly reduced anxiety. 

Dancing even helps to improve memory because participants have to learn, memorize, and perform a series of steps and actions to complete a dance. Time points out that dancing can even help break down barriers between people and help dancers feel like they are part of something and belong to a group. 

Dance Is for Everyone

You don’t need to be a professional dancer to experience the many benefits of dancing. Though you may feel like you aren’t a very good dancer, know that everyone feels shy initially, and you’ll only get better with practice. If you’re still unsure about taking a dance class, let us give you six reasons to change your mind. 

Jo+Jax makes it easy to look and feel good when you’re dancing with our comfortable dance clothes.