Learning Rewires Your Brain

You have heard the saying practice makes perfect. Well, it sure makes things easier and it actually changes your brain.

Hello dear friends-

Recent data has shown that the brain continues to change over the course of our lives. And it is not just nerve cells that change, other brain cells change too.

A study conducted by Dr. Nathan Spreng, a neuroscientist at Cornell University, showed that areas in our brains that allow us to pay attention become most active when we begin a new task.

As the task becomes easier, those areas of the brain become less active. The areas of the brain linked with daydreaming and mind-wandering become more active as people become more familiar with a task.

A wonderful article written by Alison Pearce Stevens states that as we learn something new, the cells that send and receive the information become more efficient and it takes less effort to signal the next cell.

In a sense, the cells become wired together. Thus the phrase…the cells that fire together, wire together.

Did you know that learning doesn’t stop when we are sleeping? In fact, sleeping actually improves learning. As we sleep, our brains will store memories and new information from the previous day. Sleep is important in forming the new memories needed to gain knowledge. So a poor night’s sleep can hurt our ability to remember new things. Cramming for a test might get you through the exam but you won’t remember what you were supposed to learn. Learning a little bit at a time allows the links between the nerve cells to steadily strengthen.

Those “aha” moments don’t come out of nowhere, instead it is new information that has finally all come together.

We are NEVER too old to learn and keep our brains active. I encourage you to read something new and wonderful every day!

Much love and gratitude!

Janalee