We encounter stress every day. Tomorrow’s test; moving to a new home; getting into a fight with Mom.
For me, reading a book or journaling is how I have always dealt with stress. Destressing was a peaceful sedentary activity. But for my sister – she would dance. My sister has amazed me with her creativity and ability to create such beautiful pieces of art through her work with dance. Her whole life I watched this activity elevate her mood and take her stress away, a method that contrasted to mine so greatly. I have always wondered what kind of impact dance has on moods and stress levels outside of being such a beautiful art form.
This is a photo of my sister dancing at her most recent performance. Here she is performing an improvisational piece that was selected by her university’s dance program.
Stress neurobiologically alters the normal functioning of the brain and therein the body. The brain reacts and copes with stressors to maintain homeostasis and physiological stability. One way that the body reacts to regulate the stress response is through cortisol receptors like the HPA axis that increase circulating cortisol in response to stressors. In a study done on how structured water dance intervention (SWAN) improved stress in adults with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities (PIMD), cortisol levels were used as an objective marker of stress to track how the implementation of dance lowered these levels in adults with PIMD. After participants followed a structured program that included adapted movements, experience of dance and music, and social interaction once a week for 12-weeks, their salivary cortisol levels dropped. This research demonstrated how dance reduced the stress levels in participants who are hypothesized to be at risk of high stress levels due to their disability.
Attempting to answer the same question, researchers at the Universitat de Barcelona tracked the mood and stress levels of students before and after choreography sessions. Participants were given questionnaires before choreography sessions, once in April and another time in June. The results found that body expression choreography reduced values in depression, anger, and stress-anxiety. It can be seen in Figure 1 how the stress-anxiety levels of the participants decreased with each choreography session. Researchers also noted how cooperative expressive motor practices arouse positive emotions in students which support the improvement of social skills. Dance and choreography provided a sense of security and satisfaction for these university students, ultimately lowering stress levels.
Figure 1: Factor Stress-Anxiety (S-A) mean scores before (pre) and after (post) 1st and 2nd choreography. (Mateu et al. 2021)
Whether it be in university students or adults with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities, dance has been found to reduce stress levels in humans. The exploration into why dance has such a positive impact is multifaceted. On one hand, dance incorporates music which can elevate moods, reducing stress. On another, some forms of dance are repetitive and patterned, allowing for participants to grow confidence in those patterns—which is especially helpful for the stress levels of those with movement-limiting conditions. Thirdly, dance is social. This activity fosters social engagement and a new social consciousness amongst those who take part.
Dance is fascinating, complex, and universal. Why exactly dance is so beneficial is unclear in the face of how evident it is that dance is a positive force with the power to improve one’s daily life.
Bibliography:
Lundqvist LO, Matérne M, Frank A, Mörelius E, Duberg A. Salivary cortisol levels and stress in adults with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities participating in the Structured Water Dance Intervention: a randomised controlled crossover trial. Sci Rep. 2022 Oct 19;12(1):17418. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-21573-x. PMID: 36261594; PMCID: PMC9581886.
Mateu M, Garcías S, Spadafora L, Andrés A, Febrer E. Student Moods Before and After Body Expression and Dance Assessments. Gender Perspective. Front Psychol. 2021 Jan 8;11:612811. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.612811. PMID: 33488481; PMCID: PMC7820532.
Sandra Klaperski-van der Wal, Jonathan Skinner, Jolanta Opacka-Juffry, Kristina Pfeffer, Dance and Stress Regulation: A Multidisciplinary Narrative Review, Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 2025, 102823, ISSN 1469-0292, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2025.102823.