Improve your brain health in 5 minutes or less
“I’m too busy,” is no excuse. Everyone can find 5 extra minutes.
Use your whole brain.
The left hemisphere (half) of your brain is different from the right. The main connection between the two sides of the brain is a thick band of white matter (axons) called the corpus callosum (a veritable superhighway of axonal connectors). If you’d like to give your corpus callosum a workout, bang on some bongos.
In their 2019 investigation, German researchers discovered numerous benefits that playing drums conferred on the brain. The researchers tested 20 drummers who played at a professional level for an average of 17 years and practiced for more than 10 hours per week. They examined the volunteers using various MRI imaging techniques to determine the structure and function of the brain. The scientists then compared the musicians’ brains with a group of 24 non musicians.
The scientist discovered differences in the front part of the corpus callosum between the drummers and non-musicians. The drummers had fewer but thicker axons, which connected the right and left sided brain hemispheres. The thicker cables allowed musicians to exchange information between the hemispheres more quickly than the other group of volunteers. The researchers also found that the thickness of the corpus callosum fibers was proportional to the skill level and performance of the drummers.
Getting the two sides of your brain (the left side is often more logical and the right side is often more artistic) communicating more efficiently improves creativity and problem solving.
The motor cortex (part of the brain that controls movement) of the drummers was also reported to be more efficient than that of the non-musicians. And wouldn’t we all like our brains to be a little more efficient? The scientists requested the volunteers to perform a movement that did not include drumming or music. The drummers’ brains were able to remain quieter while accomplishing the task, a phenomenon called ‘sparse sampling’. This indicated that the musicians had a brain organization that was more adept in creating and controlling movement than their non-musical peers.
Are the drums just too noisy for you? Not to worry.
Brain function is improved when different areas (movement, vision, reward) work together. This process is called Brain Network Integration and may be enhanced by exercises that require coordination of all four limbs (cross country skiing, elliptical machine).
Complex, cross body activities, such as juggling, improve the wiring of your brain (white matter) and increases the volume of the thinking part of your brain (grey matter).
What you can do in 5 minutes or less: Pick up 3 balls and learn to juggle.
Want to learn more about music and your brain? Check out https://brain2mind.substack.com/p/music-and-your-brain
For another 18 brain workouts, check out https://brain2mind.substack.com/p/19-brain-workouts
Oliver Sacks’ book “Musicophelia” has much more on this, including that the corpus collosum is so much more developed in musicians that their corpses are identifiable postmortem.
Always wanted to juggle but I haven’t thought about it much for 20 years or so. It isn’t that quick to learn. But I suppose the effort for five minutes a day is doing double duty if it also works the brain, even if you aren’t ready to join the circus.