Dance and stress regulation: A multidisciplinary narrative review

Background: Physical exercise is known to aid stress regulation, however the effects of specific exercise types are under-researched. Dance uniquely combines several characteristics that are known to have stress regulatory effects, such as music listening. Nonetheless, dance has received only little attention in studies examining the stress regulatory effects of exercise. Objective: We used a multidisciplinary narrative review as a novel approach to explore the complex relationship between dance and stress by integrating psychological, neurobiological, physiological, and socio-cultural findings. In particular, we looked at the effects of music and rhythm; partnering and social contact; and movement and physical activity. Findings: There is strong empirical evidence for the beneficial stress regulatory effects of music, social contact, and movement, illustrating that dance can promote coping and foster resilience. Neurobiological research shows that these findings can be explained by the effects that music, social contact, and movement have on, amongst others, dopamine, oxytocin, and β-endorphin modulation and their interplay with the stress system. Socio-cultural considerations of the significance of dance help to understand why dance might have these unique effects. They highlight that dance can be seen as a universal form of human expression, offering a communal space for bonding, healing, and collective coping strategies. Discussion: This review is the first to integrate perspectives from different disciplines on the stress regulatory effects of dance. It shows that dance has a large potential to aid coping and resilience at multiple levels of the human experience. At the same time, we identified that the existing evidence is often still limited by a narrow focus on exercise characteristics such as intensity levels. This hinders a more holistic understanding of underlying stress regulatory mechanisms and provides important directions for future research.