Dancing, especially with other people, can effectively reduce stress (Miljan Zivkovic/Shutterstock)

GUILFORD, England — Feeling stressed? Instead of hitting the gym, maybe you should hit the dance floor. Chronic stress wreaks havoc on our bodies and minds, and for years, experts have been telling us to exercise as a remedy. But that doesn’t mean you have to spend hours on the treadmill. A new international study shows that dancing can help manage stress, strengthen resilience, and improve overall well-being.

Sports psychologists have been documenting the benefits of physical activity for decades, leading to countless recommendations about getting active to cope with stress. But here’s what’s been missing from the conversation: not all forms of exercise affect us the same way when it comes to taming our stress response.

A new study published in Psychology of Sport & Exercise tackles this knowledge gap by zeroing in on dance, an activity that seems to have special powers when it comes to stress relief. Researchers from several European universities collaborated across disciplines to examine why dancing might deserve special attention in our stress-fighting toolkit.

Previous research has hinted that dance activities might be particularly good at softening the blow of stress, with some researchers informally calling it a “stress vaccine.” But this new review is the first comprehensive look at what makes dance so effective, bringing together insights from psychology, neurobiology, and anthropology.

The Perfect Stress-Fighting Combination

What makes dance stand out? It’s not just another way to move your body. Dancing weaves together music, rhythm, social connection, and physical movement to create what might be the perfect recipe for stress relief.

The researchers organized their investigation around these key components: the music and rhythm that drive the dance, the partnering and social aspects of dancing with others, and the physical movement itself. Each element contributes to stress regulation on its own, but combined in dance, they create something greater than the sum of their parts.

Music itself works wonders on our stress levels. The review found plenty of evidence that just listening to music can lower anxiety and help people relax. When we hear music, our brain’s reward system kicks into gear, releasing feel-good chemicals like dopamine and endorphins while potentially dialing down cortisol, our body’s main stress hormone.

One fascinating study discovered that dancing to “groovy” music produces a state of flow, that wonderful feeling of being completely absorbed in what you’re doing, which didn’t happen when people merely listened to the same music without dancing.

Brain research shows that music lights up the circuits involved in pleasure and reward, while also activating areas that regulate our body’s balance and stress response. Our love of rhythm might even have evolutionary roots, potentially serving as an ancient mechanism that fostered cooperation and social connections among our ancestors.

The Power of Dancing Together

Dancing with someone else adds another layer of stress-busting power. The review notes that dancing with a partner or in a group seems more beneficial than dancing solo. Social support and physical contact can notably reduce our physiological stress response. Touch, especially, helps buffer stress by triggering pathways in the brain that release oxytocin, sometimes called the “love hormone,” along with endorphins.

Looking at dance through an anthropological lens shows how it has historically brought people together, building social bonds and expressing emotions collectively. Across cultures, dance creates shared spaces for healing and developing group coping strategies. When people move in sync while dancing, it fosters a sense of unity and connection that can be comforting during tough times.

Dance’s physical movement works against stress much like other exercises do but with some particular advantages. All physical activity boosts endorphins and dopamine, helps regulate stress hormones, and promotes overall health. But dance movement, with its rhythmical quality, seems to offer something extra.

One study found that dance training improved cortisol regulation in older adults more effectively than regular aerobic exercise, even though only the aerobic exercise group showed improved fitness. This suggests that dance affects our stress-response system through more than just physical conditioning.

Beyond Traditional Exercise

The evidence suggests dance deserves special consideration as a stress-management tool. Its combination of features works on multiple levels simultaneously: reducing isolating feelings, building resources like self-esteem and social support, potentially dampening our immediate stress reactions, and boosting overall well-being.

This doesn’t mean you should ditch your regular workout routine if it’s working for you. But adding some form of dance, whether it’s a structured class, social dancing, or just moving to music at home, might give you stress-fighting benefits that other exercises can’t match.

• A 74-year-old man has been working out every day for ten years and counting.
• He said using strength machines and walking for cardio has kept him healthy over the years.
• Strength training with machines can help build muscle and prevent injury for better longevity.

When Vincent “Vin” DiMonte decided to hit the gym in late December of 2014, he liked it so much, he worked out again the next day.

And the next day.

And the day after that.

More than 3,700 days later, he hasn’t missed a single day of exercise, though he does take some easier days of light cardio to give his body a chance to recover.

The 74-year-old from Rhode Island said the regular routine of combining strength training with cardio has kept him energized, healthy, and strong over time.

“I am hardly ever sick, and I don’t get headaches. I have maintained my drive, diligence, dedication, and determination all these years,” DiMonte told Business Insider in an interview coordinated by Planet Fitness, his gym of choice.

DiMonte’s current workout schedule is about an hour each day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. It’s been this way for 10 years and counting, and he has no plans to slow down.

“I have treated exercise like a ‘job’ — Get up, dress up, show up, and don’t give up,” he said.

Here’s what a typical workout looks like for DiMonte, and why science says it’s so good for longevity.

Exercise machines help build muscle and prevent injury

The bulk of DiMonte’s workouts, pun intended, is strength training to build muscle.

“The goal has been to become ‘a lean mean, fighting machine,’ as John Candy proclaimed in ‘Stripes,’” DiMonte said.

He spends about 45 minutes of his workout, six days a week, on strength machines. Each focuses on a different muscle group, a strategy called a workout split that allows one muscle group to rest while you work on another.

One recent gym session included calf extensions, leg extensions, and bicep curls. Other go-to exercises include chest presses and cable pull-downs.

DiMonte said he prefers strength training machines to free weights because the movements are easier on his body.

Machine exercise can be great for building muscle, whether you’re a beginner or an experienced athlete, since they help to isolate the target muscles. And healthy muscle mass is key to living longer, making the body more resilient, preventing illness, and bolstering the metabolism over time.

For older athletes exercising for longevity, gym machines can help prevent injury since they provide more support and stability, personal trainers previously told Business Insider.

Cardio protects your heart for a longer life

Over the years, DiMonte has added more time on the treadmill to his workout routine for aerobic exercise.

His current sessions include about 12 minutes of cardio daily, and Sundays are reserved for cardio-only, a type of active recovery so he can keep moving while his muscles rest.

Aerobic or cardio exercise can help extend lifespan and health by protecting your heart as you age, whether you’re walking, biking, jogging, or doing other activities that get your heart rate up.

Walking also kept DiMonte active and exercising daily during COVID when gyms were closed.

DiMonte said the key to maintaining his health, and his decade-long habit, has been staying consistent. His advice is to do something active every day and find a community to build a lifelong habit. Having strong social connections and a sense of purpose is not only linked to better longevity — a workout buddy is one of the best ways to stay motivated at the gym too, according to science.

As DiMonte puts it: “Go one day, then go the next day, and soon you will have a routine. You will make friends with those who have the same goals. They will become your ‘peeps!’”

If you’re anything like me, finding the time to work out can be more challenging than the workout itself.

Busy lives seem to squeeze out the things we enjoy or do to take care of ourselves, with thoughts of, “Oh, I must do that,” and “I need to get that done,” taking precedence.