Dancing is something that humans do when they want to have a good time.

跳舞是人类想玩得开心时会做的事情。

It's a universal response to music, found in all cultures.

这是对音乐的普遍反应，存在于所有文化中。

But what's only been discovered recently is that dancing not only makes us feel good, it's also extremely good for our health.

但是最近才发现跳舞不仅让人心情愉悦，对健康也有极大的好处。

Dancing, like other forms of exercise, releases hormones, such as dopamine, which make us feel relaxed and happy.

舞蹈和其他形式的运动一样，会释放荷尔蒙，如多巴胺，使我们感到放松和快乐。

And it also reduces feelings of stress or anxiety.

它还可以减少压力和焦虑感。

Dancing is also a sociable activity, which is another reason it makes us feel good.

跳舞也是一种社交活动，这也是它让我们心情愉悦的另一个原因。

One study compared people's enjoyment of dancing at home in front of a video with dancing in a group in a studio.

一项研究比较了人们在家里看视频跳舞和在舞蹈室里集体跳舞的愉悦感。

The people dancing in a group reported feeling happier, whereas those dancing alone did not.

报告显示和别人一起跳舞的人更快乐，而单独跳舞的人则没有。

In another experiment, university researchers at York and Sheffield took a group of students and sent each of them into a lab where music was played for five minutes.

在另一个实验中，约克和谢菲尔德大学的研究人员将一组学生送入一个实验室，在那里播放5分钟的音乐。

Each had to choose from three options: to sit and listen quietly to the music, to cycle on an exercise bike while they listened, or to get up and dance.

每个人都有三种选择：坐着静静地听音乐，边听边骑健身车，或者站起来跳舞。

All were given cognitive tasks to perform before and after.

所有人在实验前后都接受了认知任务。

The result showed that those who chose to dance showed much more creativity when doing problem-solving tasks.

结果表明，那些选择跳舞的人在解决问题时表现出更大的创造力。

Doctor Lovatt at the University of Hertfordshire believes dance could be a very useful way to help people suffering from mental health problems.

赫特福德大学的洛瓦特博士认为，舞蹈可能会非常有效地帮助患有精神健康问题的人。

He thinks dance should be prescribed as therapy to help people overcome issues such as depression.

他认为舞蹈应该被规定为一种治疗手段，来帮助人们克服诸如抑郁症等问题。

It's well established that dance is a good way of encouraging adolescent girls to take exercise but what about older people?

众所周知，舞蹈是鼓励青春期少女锻炼身体的好方法，但老年人呢？

Studies have shown that there are enormous benefits for people in their sixties and beyond.

研究表明，舞蹈对六十多岁及以上的人的好处明显。

One of the great things about dance is that there are no barriers to participation.

舞蹈的一个伟大之处在于人们可以毫无阻碍地参与其中。

Anyone can have a go, even those whose standard of fitness is quite low.

任何人都可以跳舞，即使是那些身体素质不好的人。

Dance can be especially beneficial for older adults who can't run or do more intense workouts, or for those who don't want to.

对于不能跑步或不能做激烈运动的老年人来说，舞蹈尤其有益。

One 2015 study found that even a gentle dance workout helps to promote a healthy heart.

2015年的一项研究发现，即使是温和的舞蹈锻炼也会促进心脏健康。

And there's plenty of evidence which suggests that dancing lowers the risk of falls, which could result in a broken hip, for example, by helping people to improve their balance.

举个例子，有大量的证据表明，跳舞通过帮助改善平衡，降低由于摔倒而导致髋部骨折的风险。

There are some less obvious benefits of dance for older people too.

跳舞对老年人也有一些不太明显的好处。

One thing I hadn't realised before researching this topic was that dance isn't just a physical challenge.

在研究这个课题之前，我没有意识到，舞蹈不仅仅是一种身体上的挑战。

It also requires a lot of concentration because you need to remember different steps and routines.

它还需要大量的注意力，因为你需要记住不同的步伐和动作。

For older people, this kind of activity is especially important because it forces their brain to process things more quickly and to retain more information.

对于老年人来说，这种活动特别重要，因为它促使大脑更快地处理信息，更多地记忆信息。

Current research also shows that dance promotes a general sense of well-being in older participants, which can last up to a week after a class.

目前的研究还表明，舞蹈能促进年长参与者的普遍幸福感，这种幸福感可以在课后持续一周。

Participants report feeling less tired and having greater motivation to be more active and do daily activities such as gardening or walking to the shops or a park.

参与者反馈说，跳舞后他们感觉不那么累了，并且有更大的动力能够更积极地做日常活动，如打理花园或步行到商店或公园。

Ballroom or country dancing, both popular with older people, have to be done in groups.

在老年人中很受欢迎的交谊舞和乡村舞都需舞伴。

They require collaboration and often involve touching a dance partner, all of which encourages interaction on the dance floor.

这两类舞蹈需要合作精神和舞伴间的肢体接触，所有这些都促进舞池中的互动。

This helps to develop new relationships and can reduce older people's sense of isolation, which is a huge problem in many countries.

这有助于发展新的关系，可以减少老年人的孤立感——这在很多国家都是一个很大的问题。

I also looked at the benefits of Zumba.

我还研究了尊巴的好处。

Fifteen million people in 180 countries now regularly take a Zumba class, an aerobic workout based on Latin American dance moves.

这是一种基于拉丁美洲舞蹈动作的有氧运动。180个国家的1500万人现在定期上尊巴课。

John Porcari, a professor of exercise and sport science at the University of Wisconsin, analysed a group of women who were Zumba regulars and found that a class lasting 40 minutes burns about 370 calories.

威斯康星大学运动与运动科学教授约翰·波卡里分析了一组经常跳尊巴舞的女性，他发现通过一节持续40分钟的课程，舞者能消耗大约370卡路里。

This is similar to moderately intense exercises like step aerobics or kickboxing.

这种消耗强度和有氧踏板操或跆拳道这类强度中等的运动相似。

A study in the American Journal of Health Behavior showed that when women with obesity did Zumba three times a week for 16 weeks, they lost an average of 1.2 kilos and lowered their percentage of body fat by 1%.

《美国健康行为杂志》的一项研究显示，当肥胖女性坚持16周、每周三次的尊巴运动时，她们平均减掉1.2公斤，体脂降低1%。

More importantly, the women enjoyed the class so much that they made it a habit and continued to attend classes at least once a week – very unusual for an aerobic exercise programme.

更重要的是，这些女性非常喜欢这门课，因此她们养成了跳舞的习惯，并继续每周至少上一次课，这对于有氧运动项目来说非常罕见。

Dance is never going to compete with high-intensity workouts when it comes to physical fitness gains, but its popularity is likely to keep on rising because it's such a fun way to keep fit.

在提高身体素质方面，舞蹈永远不会与高强度训练相抗衡。但它的受欢迎程度可能会继续上升，因为它是一种非常有趣的健身方式。