“No, no te puedo olvidar…” – those five words trigger my body into dance mode. Bad Bunny’s album has been on loop, on repeat, and stuck in my head. I’ve grown up dancing bachata while getting ready and learning salsa from my mom in the kitchen. For me Latin dance has always been culture and joy, and after reading the study Latin Dance and Working Memory: The Mediating Effects of Physical Activity Among Middle-Aged and Older Latinos, it’s neurological. This study revealed that Latin dance might also serve as an intervention for cognitive decline, specifically in Latino communities who are at greater risk for Alzheimer’s disease and dementia (Aguiñaga et al., 2022).
In this 8-month randomized controlled trial, researchers evaluated the impact of BAILAMOSTM a 4-month Latin dance program followed by a 4-month maintenance phase on cognitive health of 333 low-active Latinos aged 55 and up. Participants were randomly assigned to either the dance intervention or a health education control group. Their cognitive performance was measured through neuropsychological assessments focusing on executive function, episodic memory and working memory. Physical activity (PA) levels were self-reported and categorized by total PA, leisure-time PA, and moderate-to-vigorous PA, recorded in minutes per week. Statistical analyses (ANCOVAs) were conducted to examine cognitive changes at the 4-month mark and again at the end of the 8 months.
Twelve percent of older Latinos in the U.S. are currently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and it is predicted to increase by 832% by 2060 (Wu et al., 2016). Alzheimer’s Disease is a type of dementia that affects behavior, memory and thinking. It’s a decline in cognitive function. Although it is currently uncurable, evidence suggested that regular physical activity (Blondell et al., 2014) and cognitively and mentally stimulating leisure activities (Wilson et al., 2012) were protective factors. This study hit home because I can see it reflected in my grandparents. My grandpa has Alzheimer’s, PA for him at most is a walk around the house. Whereas my grandma probably gets more steps in a day than I do in two. She dances to music every chance she gets and takes daily walks around the neighborhood. Her memory is as strong today as it was when she was my age, so how does this relate to the study?
It’s no surprise that Latinos have cited dance as an important and desirable component in their lives and it has been shown to improve or maintain cognition (Hamacher et al., 2015; Hwang and Braun, 2015; Merom et al., 2016; Predovan et al., 2019; Muiños and Ballesteros, 2021), due in part to the learning component and coordination of dancing (Voelcker-Rehage and Niemann, 2013; Rehfeld et al., 2017) among other things. Latinos are at high risk of chronic disease, mobility disability (Angel et al., 2015), and cognitive impairment (Wu et al., 2016). This study chose to implement a PA program and intervention specifically for this population and observe the benefits and appeals of dance.
More in depth, this study was based off promising findings from previous studies that were limited by small sample sizes and short follow-up periods that made the changes statistically insignificant. BAILAMOSTM was a twice weekly 1 hr session of Latin dance consisting of merengue, bachata, cha cha cha, and salsa. The health education control group met once weekly for 2 hours with curriculum on stress, My (food) Pyramid, food labels, diabetes, cancer, osteoporosis, immunizations, building a better memory, and effective use of medical appointments. Both conditions were conducted in Spanish and assessed at the baseline(month 4), and secondary (month 8), timepoints. In summary, participants were given a two-part Trail Making Test (TMT), a short form of the Stroop Neuropsychological Screening Test, Word fluency, and Symbol Digit Modalities Test to assess executive function. A Digit Span Test and Digit Ordering to assess working memory, and a two-part Logical Memory test to assess episodic memory.
I was surprised to read that by month 8, participants in the dance group showed significantly improved working memory scores in comparison to the control group. How was this tested? Seven neuropsychological tests which were then combined to form composite scores for executive function, working memory, and episodic memory. The ANCOVAs found a significant group difference in working memory between the two groups, and the experimental dance group showed significant improvement in working memory at month 8 of the study.
Table: Means and SDs of cognitive domain scores by study condition, with effect sizes for within and between condition differences.
These significant findings were further investigated with mediation tests. Total PA time predicted higher working memory scores. Total leisure PA predicted that working memory was in favor of the dance group.
So, as I continue to dance to Bad Bunny’s album, and as I continue to dance with my grandmother and my mother, I’ll know that alongside enjoying ourselves, we are looking after ourselves- remembering with every step.
Work Cited
Aguiñaga S, Kaushal N, Balbim GM, Wilson RS, Wilbur JE, Hughes S, Buchner DM, Berbaum M, McAuley E, Vásquez PM, et al. 2022. Latin Dance and Working Memory: The Mediating Effects of Physical Activity Among Middle-Aged and Older Latinos. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience. 14. doi:https://doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2022.755154.
Hi, Natalie! This is such a cute post about a topic that really hits home for me. My mom loves to dance, so whenever we would clean the house, she would play salsa music, and we’d end up getting off track and dance together. I was not aware of the link between dancing and memory, but now that I know about it, I understand why my mom can remember the slightest details that I cant!