“. . . increasing data suggest that along with physical exercise and mental exercise, particular exercise in the arts is one of the preventive things that we can all do in our society. ”
BRAIN HEALTH
Brain Health and the Arts go hand in hand!
Watch this video of Dr. Bruce Miller, Mary Margaret Clausen Distinguished Professor in Neurology at the University of California, San Francisco speak about the importance of arts in brain health.
Dr. Miller directs the UCSF Memory and Aging Center and is a director of the Global Brain Health Institute.
Dance, brain health & dementia
Thank you to Claims Conference and Rob Goldblum for this wonderfully written feature in L’Chaim magazine, Winter 2023. Click here to read the article.
PUBLIC EDUCATION
A survey of Americans by AARP indicated that although 93% recognize that maintaining brain health is important, few understand the key things we can do to support them.
Social engagement and physical activity are two of the key modifiable risk factors listed by Dr. Livingston (2020, The Lancet)
Additionally, there is a growing body of evidence both from academic research and practice pointing to the multi-faceted benefits to brain health from dance.
Supporting education and community dialogue around these topics is pivotal to promoting agency in brain health across the lifespan for all.
Educational community dialogue and dance, creative movement and storytelling class for the Tzu Chi Community in San Francisco. Offer in partnership with the UCSF Memory and Aging Center as part of my residency as an Atlantic Fellow for Equity in Brain Health at the Global Brain Health Institute.
PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION
The arts have a profound potential for supporting brain health across the lifespan. Supporting future leaders in the intersection of arts and health is paramount to bringing about the change we wish to see.
I regularly teach and mentor future arts and health leaders.
Featured here are a regular partnership with Arts in Medicine Fellows in Nigeria to offer lectures and mentorship to artists and medical professionals in expanding awareness of the benefits of dance on brain health across the lifespan and support in building arts engagement initiatives in their communities.
Project culmination of mentorship with fellows in Arts in Medicine Fellowship 2021 - a virtual discussion around Art, Brain Health and Aging with fellow, Julius Agbaje.
RESEARCH
The global population is aging. In fact, the over 65 age group is the largest growing demographic sector. In the United States, the age group over 65 will outnumber children under 18 in 14 years. Meanwhile, the projections for the prevalence of dementia are equally staggering, with over 50 million people worldwide living with dementia in 2020 and estimates of 152 million in 30 years.
The question that is arising in interdisciplinary sectors, is how do we address this projection? Given the astute statement by lead ageism activist, Ashton Applewhite, that “Aging is not a problem to be fixed or a disease to be cured. It is a natural, powerful, lifelong process that unites us all’, how do we acknowledge personhood and dignity while finding community in light of and in support of these growing projections?
So you dance so you can think?
Researchers have identified the potential of dance, being a multi-modal form, which combines social interaction, coordination and fitness, as a supporter of brain health and cognition for older adults. This was initially supported by a prospective study by Dr. Verghese and his team in 2003, which followed 469 older adults for 5.1 years observing how their engagement in leisure activities affected risk of dementia. Out of 15 activities (cognitive and physical), dance was identified as markedly reducing risk of dementia.
Since then, a number of studies have identified a numerous benefits to the impact of dance on cognition, mobility and mood. What remains to be understood is what potential dance has as a preventive activity that supports brain health as we age.
I am writing a scoping review of the effects of dance on brain health with a special focus on prodromal stages of dementia - subjective cognitive decline and mild cognitive impairment, with the intention to offer directions for future study and support development of programs that can support brain health as we age.