RESET YOUR BRAIN – OLDER ADULTS, LEARN SOMETHING NEW!
It’s easier NOT to learn something new, because the brain is wired to accept the familiar.
New research suggests that learning real-world skills in an environment similar to what college undergrads experience can produce lasting learning improvements in older adults! In fact, the research posits that learning something new can remold your brain to 30 years younger in just six weeks!
But wait!
The old saying, ‘You can’t teach an old dog new tricks’ has some validity. For older adults, it’s much easier to do familiar things every day. In fact, it is well-known that a person edging into dementia will be confused and upset by THE UNFAMILIAR.
Before you get lost on your way to the grocery store, THE UNFAMILIAR is the place you need to be.
Learning something new protects the brain against dementias.
CHOOSING THE UNFAMILIAR
I play the violin, and I would be labeled a fiddler, not a violinist. I taught myself to play at the age of 42, much too old to really smoke the bow. I never had a lesson.
Violin, like ballet, should be learned as early as possible, and TRAINING is very important for a skill like playing the violin.
Nevertheless, here I am. At some point, I hit a wall for improvements, simply because old habits ( the familiar) die hard, especially muscle memory.
Today I have lessons every week, and am learning a new level, new chords for Blue Grass fiddling. I have to admit, it’s very difficult for me. I sound just awful! Not only that, but the teacher expects me to listen carefully to chorded songs and learn them by ear.
Me: “Can’t I use sheet music to learn the chords?”
“Nope.” Said the teacher, briskly. “Listening is better for you.”
Say again?!
However, I am improving, slowly. Persistence in learning a skill is what TRAINING is all about. Relevant here, my violin teacher is training my brain as well as my bowing technique.
Will I get smarter? I have high hopes! I have faced the agony of noisy defeat, now I anticipate the thrill of sweet success!
Your mind is like a muscle; learning something new is a good brain workout. Will the mind improve immediately? No. Like changing your body through exercise, it will take a persistent six weeks, at least.
Which leads me to the premise that learning something new raises confidence in anyone. I feel proud of myself just bowing a proper ‘A’ scale with the chords!
How about learning to dance? Learn the steps and team with another person. Various dance steps take skill and it’s proven that ballroom dancing benefits your mental health! It lowers stress and anxiety and creates community and ways to bond. If you’ve been alone too long, dance helps with social anxiety!
CHANGING THE BRAIN
Every time you learn a new skill – REALLY learn it, not just skim it, the connections inside your brain change. You have probably heard the term ‘neuroplasticity’ and yes, this is it!
Whatever skill you wish to learn, your brain has the gadgetry necessary to change clodhopper chording to fast, fluent music or anything else you want to learn!
Think of it this way
Whenever they are faced with a persistent, challenging environment, the body and mind change. If we push ourselves to a higher fitness level, our bodies become stronger and faster. In the same way, our brains become faster and more focused.
Mind you, the mind and body like to take it easy. That is why improvements in body and mind take persistent TRAINING.
Like business, it’s all about making the right connections.
There are connections between neurons, and they can change a lot. When you practice a new skill, even if you feel like a failure at first, new pathways start making connections in your brain. When the connections get stronger, the skill performance improves. If you practice wrongly (as I did on the violin) or haphazardly, your skill level will improve, but only at poor performance.
You can practice shooting baskets eight hours a day, but if your technique is wrong, then all you become is very good at shooting the wrong way. Get the fundamentals down and the level of everything you do will rise. -Michael Jordan
The wrong way happened to me with the violin, although I didn’t practice eight hours a day!
The brain prunes itself
If connections are used a lot, they strengthen, but if they are seldom used, they weaken or are cast aside. The brain becomes more efficient with this pruning, similarly to clearing unused data from your PC.
The brain decides to use what it finds important – in other words, what you use consistently. If you practice poorly, or don’t use a skill, the brain eventually deletes it. It just makes sense. That’s what ‘forgetting’ is all about.
Scary thought: if you don’t create new connections, time will prune all of them out!
The writer Will Durant interpreted it thusly: “We are what we repeatedly do… therefore excellence is not an act, but a habit.”
Learning – training – is hard work. If you keep practicing anything, you will improve, but it won’t happen over night.
And remember to be nice to yourself!
#learnsomethingnew#rewireyourbrain#olderpeopleandlearning