The Benefits of Dance for Neurodivergent Minds
Dance and movement connect different neural regions in the brain, enhancing memory, mood, focus, and social connection.
At ancient rituals to seek blessings for food, fertility, harvest, and healthy children, at social functions and religious ceremonies, our ancestors used dance to communicate and tell stories. Dance may well be the oldest form of artistic expression and connection, and, today, it is being studied and lauded for its undeniable ability to transform the brain.
Movement and dance engage and align disparate neural regions — sensory and motor, cognitive and creative, social and emotional — resulting in a synchronized brain that works more smoothly and efficiently. The mind-body benefits of dance matter greatly in the context of autism and ADHD — forms of neurodivergence linked to differences in neural connectivity, functioning, and social interaction.
The Science of Movement
Dance and related practices — even a single movement session — spark myriad effects that are important for neurodivergent minds and bodies:
Coordination
Learning complex choreography, twirling on one leg, or improvising to a favorite song all recruit and strengthen motor skills, even in people with developmental coordination disorder — common in autism and ADHD. Dance also improves one’s ability to tune in to internal bodily signals and sense the body’s position in space.
Neurotransmitter Flutter
Dance stimulates the production of dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine — neurotransmitters implicated in motivation, attention, coordination, stress, and mood that often behave differently in neurodivergent brains.
[Watch: Movement As Medicine – How Music, Movement, and Dance Transform the Neurodivergent Brain]
Mind Bending
Dance is a mental workout. Moving the body generates activity in neural regions associated with cognition and executive functioning. Notably, dance can improve a person’s ability to adapt to changing situations and think about things differently, which may offset rigid thinking in autistic individuals. It is also associated with better learning and neuroplasticity.
Flow State
Experienced dancers slip into theta brain wave states, which are associated with heightened creativity and divergent thinking, more readily than do novice dancers, according to a study.
Mood Boost
Beyond neurobiological effects, dance provides an outlet for expression, alleviates depression and anxiety, and boosts emotional resilience, research shows.
[Read: The ADHD Playlist Prescription]
Ultimately, dance enhances the coordination of neural activity that allows different parts of the brain to “talk” to each other more seamlessly. This state may help regulate the atypical brain activity and connectivity commonly seen in neurodivergent individuals.
Dance Eases Social Stress
When we slow dance with a partner or rehearse with a troupe, our brains begin to coordinate rhythmically with the partner or the group. That is, dance enhances inter-brain synchrony, a phenomenon of social interactions that leads to deeper connection and collaboration.
For its role in stimulating social elements of the brain, dance is a promising tool for supporting autistic individuals. Indeed, my research team observed significant inter-brain synchrony among autistic children and adults who engaged in an eight-week musical theater program. Parents reported that their children showed lower levels of social phobia and separation anxiety after the program. Participants and parents also described brighter moods, higher self-esteem, and a stronger sense of belonging — factors that strengthen mental health.
All dance styles and forms of movement are healthy but revisiting the movement patterns illustrated below — innate to human development and codified in dance styles across the world — can reinforce brain-body connections and improve wellbeing. Neurodivergent dancers may reap particular benefit from practicing these foundational movement patterns, which are shown to repattern oscillatory activity and promote better cross-connectivity of brain regions.
How To Get Moving
- What’s around you? Check out a local dance, theater, or yoga studio with a friend.
- Start small. Set a goal for five minutes of daily rhythmic gestures. (Take inspiration from the patterns below!) Pair movement with a favorite TV show or album.
- Dance at home like no one’s watching. Follow an instructional dance video or take part in our research lab’s free movement series on Instagram (@embodiedbrainlab).
- Movement should be joyful, so choose the mode that’s most fun for you.
Benefits of Dance for ADHD and Autism: Next Steps from ADDitude
Julia C. Basso Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Department of Human Nutrition, Foods and Exercise at Virginia Tech and Director of The Embodied Brain Laboratory.
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