(Press-News.org) Dance as a performative art form alleviates perceived symptoms of depression, helps to understand its root causes and promotes self-actualisation, a recent study from the University of Eastern Finland found. The multidisciplinary research collaboration brought together perspectives from psychology and social psychology, as well as from dance as a performative art form, which is rarely included in interventions related to depression.
“Depression is a major public health concern, and there is an urgent need for adjunct treatment methods. Robust evidence regarding adjunct treatments for depression already exists for physical exercise, for example. The inclusion of expressive elements, such as those found in dance, could make physical exercise particularly appealing for many,” says Professor of Adolescent Psychiatry Tommi Tolmunen of the University of Eastern Finland.
Nowadays, dance is regarded as a promising rehabilitation method that complements medical treatment across a range of conditions, including depression. Dance movement therapy, in particular, has been shown to be a suitable adjunct treatment for both depression and anxiety. Dancing may reduce the secretion of stress hormones such as cortisol and noradrenaline, while increasing the secretion of dopamine, which, like physical exercise, is associated with pleasure. Dancing also enhances bodily awareness and offers a creative, non-verbal means of self-expression. Through dance, it is possible to process emotions that may be difficult to verbalise or that transcend verbal language.
The pilot study involved seven adolescents diagnosed with mild-to-moderate depression. During the study, they created a digital dance piece of their desired future, using dance improvisation and a camera-based 3D motion capture method. The results highlighted particularly the psychosocial health benefits of dance in reducing symptoms of depression, including better self-esteem and self-awareness, improved ability to process embodied emotions, a sense of being accepted and the importance of peer support.
Participants’ experiences of an accepting and trusting atmosphere, and of a sense of belonging and community, were especially conducive to helping them develop their relationship with their own body through enhanced bodily awareness. Participants also observed this transformation in their concrete choreography process, as their experiences of their own body and its capabilities evolved into encounters with the self, self-actualisation and self-expression.
“Depression can affect interoception, that is, how we perceive internal sensations in the body. Disruptions in interoception are common in depression, anxiety and alexithymia, for example. Moreover, one’s experience of the body can be negative in many ways,” says Senior Researcher Hanna Pohjola, Docent in Multidisciplinary Health and Well-being Research.
For participants, a key aspect of the research process was making their experience of depression and of their desired future visible through dance using 3D motion capture. This provided participants not only with a concrete way to anonymously perform dance to a wider audience, but also an opportunity to observe their own movement from an external perspective. This enabled reflection on personal values and attitudes, and therefore facilitated confronting the root causes of depression.
“For participants, this opened a path to self-actualisation, that is, engaging in meaningful activities that bring joy and satisfaction, and experiencing a sense of purpose,” Pohjola notes.
The study was conducted as part of the Narrating through Dance in Life Fractures project (2021–2025), funded by the Kone Foundation. The project explored the experiential and social psychological impacts of dance in various life fractures.
END
Dancing alleviated perceived symptoms of depression and helped to understand its root causes
2025-10-30
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Tricky treats: Why pumpkins accumulate pollutants
2025-10-30
Pumpkins, squash, zucchini and their relatives accumulate soil pollutants in their edible parts. A Kobe University team has now identified the cause, making it possible to both make the produce safer and create plants that clean contaminated soil.
The gourd family of plants comprising pumpkins, zucchini, melons, cucumbers and more are known to accumulate high levels of pollutants in their edible parts. Kobe University agricultural scientist INUI Hideyuki says: “The pollutants don’t easily break down and thus pose a health risk to people who eat the fruit. Interestingly, other plants don’t ...
Revealing the molecular structures of sugars using galectin-10 protein crystals
2025-10-30
A quick, purification-free method was developed by researchers at Institute of Science Tokyo, to capture the detailed 3D structures of flexible sugar molecules. By growing crystals of galectin-10 protein using a cell-free crystallization process and soaking them in sugar solution, the researchers were able to trap and analyze the molecular arrangement of sugars and their interactions with the protein. This offers a powerful tool to accelerate research in drug discovery and molecular biology.
Sugars, or saccharides, do much more than sweeten food. In living organisms, these molecules decorate the surfaces of cell and also act as vital messengers in processes such as infection control and tissue ...
World’s leading medical journal details the climate emergency
2025-10-30
New global findings in the 2025 Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change reveal that the continued overreliance on fossil fuels and failure to adapt to climate change continues to be paid in people’s lives, health, and livelihoods, with 13 of 20 indictors tracking health threats now reaching unprecedented levels.
The University of Sydney’s Heat and Health Research Centre contributed to the global report of the Countdown, which is published annually by The Lancet, the world’s leading medical ...
GLP-1 drugs effective for weight loss, but more independent studies needed
2025-10-30
Three new Cochrane reviews find evidence that GLP-1 drugs result in clinically meaningful weight loss, but industry-funded studies raise questions. The reviews were commissioned by the World Health Organization (WHO) to inform upcoming guidelines on the use of these drugs to treat obesity.
The reviews, which examine the effects of three weight loss drugs known as GLP-1 receptor antagonists, have found that all three drugs result in clinically meaningful weight loss compared with placebo. However, evidence on longer-term ...
Researchers uncover previously unexplored details of mosquito’s specialized detection mechanisms
2025-10-30
It’s bound to happen at a summer picnic, a peaceful walk in the woods or simply sitting in your backyard… a mosquito targets your blood for its next meal. You’ve been bitten.
But how do mosquitoes find you?
Among several methods used to locate new hosts for blood sucking, mosquitoes feature a keen ability to detect carbon dioxide. As we breathe out, we emit CO2 into the air around us, which mosquitoes can sense. But how?
Scientists have been aware of the mosquito’s ability to detect our carbon dioxide expirations but the intricate underlying physiological structures enabling these capabilities largely have remained ...
Stem cell therapy linked to lower risk of heart failure after a heart attack
2025-10-30
Patients with weak heart function who receive stem cell therapy shortly after a heart attack are at lower risk of developing heart failure and related hospital stays compared with standard care, finds a clinical trial published by The BMJ today.
The researchers say the findings suggest this technique may be a valuable add-on procedure for this particular group of patients after a heart attack to prevent subsequent heart failure and reduce the risk of future adverse events.
Advances in heart attack ...
The NHS is reaching a crisis point in consultant recruitment, new report warns
2025-10-30
The NHS is reaching a crisis point in consultant recruitment as 1 in 3 consultant posts lie vacant in some parts of the UK and recruiting managers regularly wait over 12 months to secure a candidate, leading to increased locum costs, finds a new report published by BMJ Careers today.
Data obtained under the Freedom of Information Act reveal that these shortages are costing the health service upwards of £674m on locum consultants and are negatively affecting staff morale and patient care. Relying on expensive agency staff also risks derailing work to cut waiting lists.
One resident doctor at a north London trust said: “It’s a complete nightmare ...
UNM research suggests Halloween fireballs could signal increased risk of cosmic impact or airburst in 2032 and 2036
2025-10-29
Every year, the Taurid meteor shower lights up the night sky from late October through early November. Sometimes called the “Halloween fireballs”, they are named for the constellation Taurus—the bull—from which the meteors appear to radiate, the shower is best viewed from dark-sky locations. In New Mexico, where wide-open spaces and low light pollution offer some of the clearest skies in the country, stargazers have a front-row seat to the spectacle.
Meteors are flashes and streaks of light that appear ...
Biochar’s hidden helper: Dissolved organic matter boosts lead removal from polluted water
2025-10-29
A new study reveals that a small but powerful component of biochar, known as dissolved organic matter, plays a surprisingly large role in capturing toxic lead from contaminated water. The research, published in Biochar, uncovers how this dissolved material enhances the metal-binding power of biochar and offers molecular-level insights that could guide safer and more effective cleanup strategies.
Biochar, a carbon-rich substance produced by heating crop residues or other organic waste in limited oxygen, has been widely used to immobilize heavy metals in soils and water. However, scientists have long puzzled over why biochar made at lower temperatures ...
Sunlight turns everyday fabrics into ocean microfibers, new study finds
2025-10-29
A new study has revealed that sunlight can transform common synthetic fabrics into tiny plastic fibers that pollute coastal oceans. The findings shed light on how clothing and household textiles contribute to the growing problem of microplastic pollution in marine environments.
Scientists from the Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences and Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology examined how different colored polyester fabrics break down when exposed to sunlight in seawater. They discovered that long-term exposure to ultraviolet light can convert polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a ...