http://www.kadtsreallydance.com/contactus.htm How Ballroom dancing can improve memory function. en-us Sat, 29 Jan 2011 13:54:43 -0800 http://www.kadtsreallydance.com/contactus.htm It's the most fun day time party in Atlanta. It's the most fun you can have with your clothes on. Most people agree that learning something new is fun, stimulating and exciting. Learning how to ballroom dance involves all three, it's fun, it stimulates the brain and the exciting part is learning about yourself and others who participate with you. Imagine working hard all week and really feeling the need to get out and have some fun socializing with others and then finding a place to go that seems to be a playground for adults, filled with laughter, music, food and dancing. Doesn't that sound like the place to be. On top of all that you get to learn something you've always wanted, how to ballroom dance-- and in four hours! Day time parties, although may take some getting use to, are proving to be more convenient and less stressful, leaving time for other activities before the day ends. Generally ballroom dance events are for all age groups so it's okay for parents to invite their children (teens and older) to join them in the fun and excitement. The better ballroom dance events also provide, line dancing, circle dancing as well as student performances to add to the fun. Sat, 29 Jan 2011 13:54:42 -0800 RSSPECT-001236049 http://www.kadtsreallydance.com/contactus.htm By Gene Emery Wednesday, June 18, 2003 BOSTON (Reuters) - Want to ward off Alzheimer's disease? Play some mental games or go dancing. Elderly people who frequently read, do crossword puzzles, practice a musical instrument or play board games cut their risk of Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia by nearly two-thirds compared to people who seldom do such activities, researchers said on Wednesday The findings, which stem from a long-term study of people over 75, are the latest to buttress the "use it or lose it" theory of staying mentally sharp. Previous attempts to test the theory met with controversy because researchers had no way to tell if people who avoided mentally challenging activities were doing so because they were already in the early stages of Alzheimer's. But neurologist Joe Verghese and his colleagues at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, New York, adjusted for that potential complication by following hundreds of elderly volunteers for more than 20 years. The study, published in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine, showed, for example, that volunteers who did crossword puzzles four days a week had a risk of dementia that was nearly half that of subjects who did puzzles once a week. With the exception of dancing, physical activity did not decrease the risk. Among the 25 people who danced frequently, their chance of developing dementia was 76 percent lower. The Verghese team said mentally challenging activities may directly slow down the processes that lead to dementia or, alternatively, create a larger reserve of brain cells that a patient can tap once deterioration begins. The study did not look at how many hours a day the volunteers performed mental activities, nor at how taxing those activities were on the brain. "Although we didn't analyze the intensity of the activity, I think that would influence your risk of dementia," Verghese told Reuters. "And I would think an activity that is more challenging would probably be better than something that is less challenging." More research is needed to confirm the findings and better understand the influence that genetic, physical activity and mental challenges play in controlling the timing of Alzheimer's, Harvard's Joseph Coyle said in a commentary in the Journal. In the meantime, he encouraged elderly people to read, play board games and go ballroom dancing. "These activities, at the very least, enhance their quality of life, and they just might do more than that," he said. Sat, 29 Jan 2011 10:50:25 -0800 RSSPECT-001235996