Dancing & Memory

I only caught the end of Oprah today, where she had someone teaching the audience some cool dance moves.

The interesting thing is that on the View they had Leeza Gibbons and partner doing a Tango, and it was mentioned that ballroom dancing is a great tool for helping to retain memory function and slow the Alzheimer's effect.

For anyone past middle age the loss of memory function frequently becomes an issue. Ginkgo has already proven itself to be helpful for this, and it makes sense that dancing would too since you are working on remembering steps combined with movement, so more than just the brain is engaged.

Its funny, because without knowing this (or rembering it?) I have been trying to get into the habit of going dancing with a friend. So now I have yet another reason to go. I liked the idea of going simply because it is a fun way to get some good exercise. Of course I was thinking about folk dancing and square dancing, but I'm sure the same principle applies.