After all, we now know that physical activity stimulates the formation of new brain cells. However, these cells need to be challenged in order to survive. Unsurprisingly, some studies have shown that memory benefits most when physical training is combined with mental training.

Complex requirements

So would dancing be a good way to keep the mind fit? After all, dancers have to process the music and try to harmonize their movements with the rhythm. They have to perform complicated movements and at the same time communicate with their dance partner in different ways. Dancing therefore places greater demands on the brain than simple fitness training with repetitive, automated movements.

Fitness versus dance training

Prof. Notger Müller and his team from the Neurological University Clinic in Magdeburg have investigated whether older people actually improve their brain performance more with dancing than with fitness training. They divided 60 senior citizens with an average age of 68, who were still mentally fit, into two groups. One group took part in a fitness and strength training program, the other in a special dance training program in which they repeatedly learned new steps and figures.

After six months of training, the participants' memory capacity was examined. The dancers had become more alert as a result of the training, they were better able to divide their attention between two tasks and had also become more mentally flexible. In the sports group, on the other hand, only alertness had increased. In balance tests, the dancers improved in two of the three areas examined, while the athletes only improved in one.

Enlarged brain areas

The participants' brains were also examined using computer tomography (MRT). In contrast to the athletes, the dancers had enlarged areas associated with attention and memory. There was also an increase in nerve substances in the dancers' blood that are responsible for long-term memory, among other things. One and a half years after the training, the dancers had actually slightly improved their memory performance.

Different forms of dementia

• In dementia, the mental, emotional and social abilities of those affected gradually deteriorate.
• The most common form of dementia is Alzheimer's dementia (around two thirds of cases). In this case, protein deposits gradually destroy the brain matter.
• The second most common form, vascular dementia, is caused by damage to the blood vessels in the brain.