We have repeatedly written about how dancing at home is a great form of exercise. You don’t have to cut a rug on the dance floor to reap the benefits. Adding extra movement into your day while doing things around the house shows results. And, in our experience, it makes tasks more fun!
Research has repeatedly proven that dance is effective as exercise. Now, researchers looked at exactly how much dancing in the kitchen is needed to equal a jog. They found that 20 minutes of kitchen dancing is the same as a visit to the gym or a jog.
The researchers tracked the heart rates and oxygen intake of 48 volunteers, aged 18 to 83, as they danced in five-minute increments. The point of the research was to see if people got a workout when they weren’t aiming to. The participants picked their own music and danced freely without any instruction.
“The main idea was to understand whether the intensity that people would receive from dancing freely on their own be enough to be a health-enhancing physical activity,” explained the lead researcher, Dr. Aston McCullough, from Northeastern Univ. “And the answer was ‘yes’. All adults were able to reach a health-enhancing level of activity without being told what intensity to dance at. They just put on their own music and danced around – and even when they didn’t have music on they were still reaching that level. The main idea for us is that dance is a really accessible form of physical activity that people can do, even in their homes. Most people think of dance as something that is light and really easy, but really if you just tell someone to ‘have a dance’ they’re going to get to that level of intensity that you would ask them to do if you were a personal trainer.”
The participants were told that the researchers “would not really be watching” and were focused on the data, not their dance moves. That meant that they literally danced like no one was watching. When no one is watching, people dance freely and in a way that significantly boosts their health.
Dancing aids weight management as it is an effective way of burning calories. It is also great cardio that can aid heart health. It also improves people’s spatial awareness and memory skills while improving mood by boosting serotonin. Dancing can aid core strength, coordination and posture.
Dancing is a free, accessible form of exercise. You don’t need any special equipment or a place to do it. Your home is an excellent place for dancing; you can do it with or without music! By bopping along to a few of your favorite songs daily, you’ll significantly aid your health for free.
