Fitness

Why Dancing May Be More Effective Than Exercise for Reducing Stress

Published

1 year ago

March 21, 2025

Press Room

Why Dancing May Be More Effective Than Exercise for Reducing Stress

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

In a nutshell

The unique combination of music, rhythm, social interaction, and physical movement in dance makes it a powerful tool for reducing stress and boosting mental health.
Dancing with a partner or in a group enhances stress relief by providing social support, physical touch, and a sense of connection, which triggers the release of oxytocin and endorphins.
Beyond the physical exercise, dance activates the brain’s reward system, potentially improving emotional regulation, promoting flow states, and contributing to long-term resilience.

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

A woman dancing — You may actually be able to dance your stress away. (Studio Romantic/Shutterstock)

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

Couple dancing — Dancing with others releases endorphins and allows you to connect with people. (Miljan Zivkovic/Shutterstock)

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.

Paper Summary

Methodology

The researchers initially attempted a systematic literature review on dance and stress but found limited studies directly examining this relationship. They pivoted to a narrative review approach, incorporating research from psychology, neuroscience, and anthropology. Their team organized findings into three main categories: music and rhythm; partnering and social contact; and movement and physical activity. For each section, they presented evidence from psychological studies, neurobiological research, and socio-cultural perspectives.

Results

The review revealed that music activates the brain’s reward system while potentially lowering stress hormones. When combined with movement in dance, it creates unique states like “flow” that aren’t achieved through listening alone. Studies showed dancing with partners produces more positive effects than solo exercise, with synchronization promoting feelings of connection. The physical aspect of dance contributes to stress regulation through multiple pathways, including boosting endorphins and improving overall health. Notably, dance training improved cortisol regulation better than traditional aerobic exercise, suggesting benefits beyond mere fitness improvements.

Limitations

The authors acknowledge several constraints. Few studies directly examine recreational dance and stress, forcing them to broaden their approach. Their narrative review methodology lacks the systematic rigor that would minimize selection bias. They couldn’t address all relevant dance characteristics, omitting factors like communication, body awareness, and emotional expression. “Dance” encompasses many styles from structured routines to spontaneous movement, a complexity they couldn’t fully explore. Finally, it’s difficult to isolate which specific components (music, social contact, or movement) drive particular benefits.

Discussion and Takeaways

The researchers emphasize this review provides a first step toward understanding the complex relationship between dance and stress regulation. They argue dance uniquely integrates mind, body, and cultural elements, making it particularly effective for building coping skills and resilience. For the field of exercise psychology, they recommend moving beyond the traditional focus on exercise intensity to consider social components, touch, and musical elements. Understanding the mechanisms behind different exercise types could lead to more personalized and effective stress management recommendations.

Funding and Disclosures

The paper does not mention any specific funding sources or financial conflicts of interest.

Publication Information

The paper, “Dance and stress regulation: A multidisciplinary narrative review,” was authored by Sandra Klaperski-van der Wal, Jonathan Skinner, Jolanta Opacka-Juffry, and Kristina Pfeffer. It was published in Psychology of Sport & Exercise (volume 78, Article 102823) in 2025. The authors are affiliated with Radboud University (Netherlands), the University of Roehampton, the University of Surrey (UK), and the University of Southern Denmark.

Related Topics:dancing stress Stress management stress relief

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Fitness

The NHS has reignited the hybrid working debate – but WFH isn’t the health risk, this is

Published

8 hours ago

July 11, 2026

Press Room

The NHS has reignited the hybrid working debate – but WFH isn’t the health risk, this is

The latest NHS exercise guidance reinforces what we’ve been preaching for years: hitting that 150-minute weekly movement target isn’t necessarily a get-out-of-jail-free card. It states that prolonged sedentary time is independently harmful, even for those of us who diligently carve out time for the gym. Verbatim, it says ‘prolonged sitting is harmful, even in people who achieve the recommended levels of moderate to vigorous physical activity’.

Chief Medical Officer Professor Sir Chris Whitty has been especially vocal about how detrimental it could be, highlighting hybrid working as a potential health hazard. ‘Without wanting to exaggerate, I think it’s important people think through, for example, hybrid working means quite a lot of people could very easily do very little other than leave their homes, where previously people would be routinely going to work, and that often meant at least some physical [activity],’ he said at a briefing.

I understand his logic, but it’s pretty reductive. Working from home isn’t the villain here – working from one chair is.

When we label remote work as “bad for your health”, we risk throwing the baby out with the bath water. In reality, for many – certainly the whole of the Women’s Health office, but also my less-fitness-conscious sister and stepdad, plus my entire friendship group – working from home often means being more active. It means more time to fit in a lunchtime run, to get some steps in before work, or to run some errands on a quick break.

Oscar Wong//Getty Images

Whitty suggests commuting increases incidental movement

On the other hand, plenty of office workers are more sedentary than they are at home. They sit at a desk for nine hours straight before driving home, whether to be seen to work tirelessly in front of their manager, or simply because they’re pulled from pillar to post in an office setting. For those who do have an office commute, eliminating that often stressful period of the day allows for better sleep, and more time for the movement breaks we need to break up the dreaded sedentary time. Not to mention that many commutes are almost entirely sedentary on a train/tube/bus.

The potential problem, the advice suggests, is the lack of incidental movement – the walk to the train, the stroll to a meeting room, or heading out for lunch – that’s naturally baked into your day when you’re in the “official” office. Without a commute or a day in the office, the onus is on you to manufacture movement in.

Olga Pankova//Getty Images

Regular stretching counts as a movement break

Without sounding evangelical, I’ve made this a non-negotiable part of my day. On WFH days, I work out or walk every single morning before I log on, and walk again every evening, even if just a lap around the block. During the day, I have a personal rule: if I’m downstairs, I use the upstairs toilet (and vice versa). Sounds excessive, but it forces me to activate my muscles and add to my step count every few hours.

Beyond that, the options are endless if you’re intentional. Use a standing desk or put your laptop on a kitchen worktop during calls. Take every phone meeting on foot, pacing your hallway if necessary. Set a timer to stand up every 30 mins to stretch, grab a glass of water, or do a quick load of laundry.

We don’t need to return to the office to be healthy; we need to bring movement back into our homes. The goal: to stop being professional sitters.

As Women’s Health UK’s fitness director and a qualified Pilates and yoga instructor, Bridie Wilkins has been passionately reporting on exercise, health and nutrition since the start of her decade-long career in journalism.

After earning a first-class degree in journalism and NCTJ accreditation, she secured her first role at Look Magazine, where she launched the magazine’s health and fitness column, Look Fit, before going on to become Health and Fitness writer at HELLO!

Since, she has written for Stylist, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, Elle, The Metro, Runner’s World and Red. Today, she oversees all fitness content across Women’s Health online and in print, spearheading leading cross-platform franchises, such as ‘Fit At Any Age’, which showcases the women proving that age is no barrier to exercise.

She has also represented the brand on BBC Radio London, plus various podcasts and Substacks – all with the aim to encourage more women to exercise and show them how. Outside of work, find her trying the latest Pilates studio, testing her VO2 max for fun (TY, Oura), or posting workouts on Instagram.

Fitness

A Strength Coach Says These Two Exercises Are All You Need to Build Stronger Shoulders

Published

18 hours ago

July 10, 2026

Press Room

A Strength Coach Says These Two Exercises Are All You Need to Build Stronger Shoulders

If you ask anyone on the gym floor how to grow a bigger set of shoulders, you’ll probably find that no two answers are the same. In between front raises, upright rows, machine presses and cable raises, shoulder day can quickly become a long list of exercises.

However, fitness creator and coach Eric Evans, also known on social media as Average to Jacked, thinks most lifters are overcomplicating things. He says that if he had to start from scratch after over a decade of training, he’d strip his shoulder workouts back to just two simple moves.

‘If I had to start over today, I’d build my shoulders with just two movements: a lateral raise and also a rear delt fly,’ he explains.

According to Evans, the reason for this isn’t because those exact exercises are magic, but because they work the correct movement pattern for the muscle.

‘Your body doesn’t know the name of the exercise you’re doing,’ he argues. ‘It really only knows the fundamental movement pattern you’re asking it to perform and also the amount of tension you’re placing on the muscle.’

So, you don’t have to perform cable lateral raises if your gym only has dumbbells, or use a reverse pec deck if you’d rather do bent-over rear delt flyes. As long as you’re training the same movement pattern and progressing the move with intensity or volume, you’ll achieve a similar result.

According to the coach, lateral raises deserve a place in your programme because they primarily target the side delts, helping create broader-looking shoulders and a more pronounced ‘V-taper’. Rear delt flyes train the back of the shoulders to create a rounder, more 3D physique.

‘I’m not including anything for the front delts, and that’s intentional,’ he says. ‘Your front delts are already heavily involved every time you do pressing exercises for your chest.’

Prostock-Studio//Getty Images

For most lifters already bench pressing, incline pressing or overhead pressing regularly, he argues the side and rear delts are more likely to be the limiting factor.

‘I don’t think the front delts are what’s holding their shoulders back. I think it’s the side and rear delts,’ he adds.

He recommends focusing on controlling every rep, and avoiding using momentum to swing the weight. He also suggests working in the 8-15 rep range, adding reps until you reach the top of the range before increasing the load and repeating the process – also known as progressive overload.

‘You definitely don’t need to hit your shoulders from 10 different angles,’ he says. ‘You just need to consistently train these two movement patterns, push them hard and then gradually get stronger over time.’

The Bottom Line

Research suggests muscle growth is driven more by sufficient training volume, progressive overload and proximity to failure than by constantly changing exercises and programme hopping. In fact, that could hinder it. So if your shoulder workouts have become jam-packed with unnecessary variations, simplifying your approach may be exactly what helps you make more consistent progress in the long term.

If there’s one thing Kori Sampson knows, it’s how to optimise your body composition for performance. To tap into his knowledge as an elite athlete and coach, we asked him to create a 4-week plan to help you move faster, recover quicker and keep pushing when the fatigue sets in – all while improving your muscle-to-fat ratio.

Ready to build muscle, burn fat and come out the other side looking, feeling and performing better? Click here to get 14 days of free access to the plan via the Men’s Health app.

Fitness

80-year-old fitness icon Joan MacDonald reveals her simple exercise for a stronger, more stable core

Published

1 day ago

July 10, 2026

Press Room

80-year-old fitness icon Joan MacDonald reveals her simple exercise for a stronger, more stable core

Joan MacDonald didn’t enter a gym until she was 70. Really. Since then, the 80-year-old has transformed her health by losing three stone and building significant muscle, and now coaches other women through her training platform, Train With Joan, which she launched to help others boost their fitness at any age.

The premise of her app is simple: minimal-equipment workouts built around no-fuss, effective exercises that can be done anywhere. One ‘powerful core and stability exercise’ she swears by is alternating bodyweight clock taps. ‘This movement helps strengthen the muscles that keep you stable, balanced and moving well as you age,’ Joan explains.

Bodyweight clock taps benefits

Think they look too simple? That’s the point. Joan is adamant that ‘You don’t need complicated workouts to start getting stronger. Sometimes the most effective movements are the simple ones you do consistently.’

According to Joan, regularly performing bodyweight clock taps help:

‘Strengthen your core which supports your spine and reduces strain on your lower back.
‘Improve balance and coordination, helping you stay steady on your feet.
‘Increase hip stability, which supports your knees and joints.
‘Build functional strength for everyday movements like stepping, turning and reaching.
‘Help reduce fall risk by improving control and body awareness’

@trainwithjoan/instagram//Instagram

How to do bodyweight clock taps

Find a demo from Joan above, along with instructions for how to do them with proper form below.

Stand on one leg with a slight bend in your supporting knee and brace your core.
Keeping your hips level, reach your free foot forward to lightly tap the floor in front of you (12 o’clock), then return to the centre.
Continue tapping to different “clock” positions—such as 3, 6 and 9 o’clock—maintaining your balance and control throughout.
Complete all reps on one leg before switching sides.

Form tip: Move slowly and focus on staying stable. The goal is controlled movement, not how far you can reach.

How many reps and sets to do

Joan shares her advice, according to your fitness level.

Beginners: ‘3 taps per leg x 8-10 reps’
Intermediate: ‘3 taps per leg x 10-12 reps’
Advanced: ‘3 taps per leg x 12-15 reps’

woman in workout attire featured in women's health magazine for body composition plan.

One of our most frequently asked questions here at Women’s Health? How to build muscle and burn fat at the same time. So, we asked superstar trainer Oyinda Okunowo exactly how to do it. In this 4-week plan – created exclusively for Women’s Health COLLECTIVE members – you’ll get the workouts and nutrition guidance needed to help you on your way to better body composition. Tap the link below to unlock 14 days of free access to Oyinda’s plan and start training today.

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