BrainHealth Week starts today! Plus: dancing, personalized mental health, brain stimulation and more

Wel­come to a new edi­tion of Sharp­Brains e‑newsletter, annouc­ing the kick-off of Brain­Health Week and fea­tur­ing some stim­u­lat­ing resources and teasers. #1. Brain­Health Week (Feb­ru­ary 20–24th) starts today: Explore many fun events includ­ing a dai­ly text chal­lenge, a talk with the always great Dr. Tom Insel, and more! #2. With­out Brain Health, you do not have…

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Ballroom dancing can reduce aging-related brain atrophy in the hippocampus (and, more than treadmill walking!)

Social ball­room danc­ing can improve cog­ni­tive func­tions and reduce brain atro­phy in old­er adults who are at increased risk for Alzheimer’s dis­ease and oth­er forms of demen­tia. That’s the key find­ing of my team’s recent­ly pub­lished study in the Jour­nal of Aging and Phys­i­cal Activ­i­ty. In our study, we enrolled 25 adults over 65 years…

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Dance training: The ultimate way to delay brain decline by combining physical, cognitive, and social engagement

Study: Danc­ing may off­set some effects of aging in the brain (CSU release): “A new study led by a Col­orado State Uni­ver­si­ty researcher shows that kick­ing up your heels can actu­al­ly be good for your nog­gin. The research team demon­strat­ed for the first time that decline in the brain’s “white mat­ter” can be detect­ed over…

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What Everyone Should Know About Stress, Brain Health, and Dance

Every­one expe­ri­ences stress at some point in our lives. It is impor­tant to know that stress can harm the brain, and also that dance can be a great avenue for a per­son resist, reduce, or escape it. Stress can change the phys­i­cal struc­ture and func­tion of the brain, affect­ing wiring and thus per­for­mance of one’s activities. 

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What Educators and Parents Should Know About Neuroplasticity, Learning and Dance

Dance. Is it mere­ly art?  Is it just recre­ation?  Think again. Dance is now being stud­ied as a path­way to enhance learn­ing.  And, sci­en­tists say, edu­ca­tors and par­ents should take note of the move­ment. Recent­ly at the annu­al meet­ing of the Soci­ety for Neu­ro­science annu­al meet­ing, more than 6,800 atten­dees paid rapt atten­tion to renowned choreographer…

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