Juggling may increase brain size
Juggling might seem like something best left to clowns, but a new study has found it can increase the size of your brain. Research conducted by the Department of Clinical Neurology at Oxford University, found activities, like juggling, increase the brain’s ‘white matter’.
Juggling might seem like something best left to clowns, but a new study has found it can increase the size of your brain.
Research conducted by the Department of Clinical Neurology at Oxford University, found activities, like juggling, that test the mind and body at the same time seem to increase the brain’s ‘white matter’, which is the brain’s neural connections,by as much as 5%.
As a bonus, these types of tasks improved hand-eye coordination and agility.
Researchers claimed the study, published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, had “potential significance” for the treatment of diseases like multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease, where neural pathways and brain ‘cabling’ were damaged.
The research team enrolled 24 young adults in the study, who were given brain scans before the testing commenced.
Half of the participants were then given training sessions in how to juggle and juggled for at least 30 minutes a day.
At the end of six weeks of training, a second set of brain scans were taken, and revealed a “clear” increase in white matter in those people who had practised juggling daily.
While previous studies have suggested different mental activities and practices can change and grow ‘grey matter’ — which is the part of the brain involved in processing, comprehending and retrieving information — researchers reported the Oxford study was one of the first to show an effect on the brain’s white matter, which controls a person’s ability to see and react to things.
TIP: Can’t keep those balls in the air or that hoop around your waist? Try any sport that requires your complete attention, such as table tennis or skipping.
