Music

Dancing is said to increase your pain threshold

by Jeremy Mersereau

The next time that weird, dreadlocked friend-of-a-friend Sketchy Jim invites you to an outdoor underpass rave of questionable legality, you might want to say yes, at least according to a new study from Oxford University.

Researchers studied the effects of extended dancing on a group of 264 Brazilian teenagers, and found that even just a small amount of synchronized rug-cutting was enough for “a significant increase in in-group prosociality ratings” and “a positive change in pain threshold.”

“So raving all night means increased bonding with my hookah ‘buds,’ heh heh, and inability to feel pain like that James Bond villain from The World Is Not Enough? Geez, I coulda told those eggheads that, man!” Thanks for your input, Sketchy Jim.

The study involved the subjects being split into two groups, low and high exertion, and performing synchronized dance moves for 10 minutes, all to the same music at the same time. Afterwards, participants’ pain thresholds were monitored with an inflatable blood pressure cuff, and their sociality to the other participants were measured both before and after the dancing with a questionnaire. The study “demonstrated significant independent positive effects… suggesting that dance which involves both exertive and synchronised movement may be an effective group bonding activity.”

So, the teenage study participants said they were closer to each other after 10 minutes of goofily gyrating around? You don’t say. Sometimes it feels like these studies are just performed to get music blog coverage. “That’s what I’m saying, dude! Anyway, you free Friday? I’m DJ’ing… and according to this study, you should probably come.” Thanks a lot, eggheads!