We used to think that once your brain had matured your neural connections were pretty much laid and there wasn't much potential left for new learning to go on. People develop habits, get set in their ways and we come to accept that some people and their behaviour are unlikely to change no matter what the stimulus. Turns out we were wrong, very wrong.
Although it seems obvious enough that the brain, along with the rest of the body, develops and grows as we become adults, there is some fine print. Clearly the size of the brain doesn't keep increasing exponentially - that could lead to some serious headaches - but the development doesn't just halt either. The billions of nerve cells in your brain are constantly laying down new pathways and remodelling older ones in response to what they are exposed to each and every day. It's not just the size of your brain that counts, but rather the efficiency of neural connections within it. Think about it - you don't suddenly reach a point where there is no room in your head to learn some new information or a new skill. As frustrating as many car park pay points can be, we figure them out eventually. Many people take up a hobby in adult life that they never even thought of as a child without any problem whatsoever, and even excel at it. We know that learning is always possible, if we want it.
What can become problematic is when we use our current habits as 'reasons' for not trying something different to our regular routine. We convince ourselves that it's too late or wouldn't do any good anyway. While it's understandable that there are certain experiences we don't need to have gone through to know they won't be our cup of tea, if we're honest, there have been cases where we relied on our excuses about routine to avoid something we could have and should have done. If you are perfectly content with everything in your life, that's wonderful and maybe you could try something new for fun. If there are things you are currently unhappy with and could change, why not make a start sooner rather than later?
The reason it's so important to keep challenging yourself and learning new things is that the well known "Use it or lose it" applies strongly in this case. Not only does it apply to your mind, but your body too. Your body adapts to deal with what it has to handle on a daily basis, so how long you spend sitting, moving, stressing will shape who and what you become. Most of the postural problems I've encountered in my clients tend to be a result of poor habits - sadly, most of us have learned to move (or not move) in a similar fashion and the resulting postural problems are obvious and growing in number. Neuroplasticity to the rescue!
Once a movement pattern has been trained, it takes approximately 10 times the number of movements in a new pattern to 'unlearn' the old way and implant the new pattern as standard. But it can be done! What bears repeating is that persisting in poor posture, or other poor movement patterns, merely reinforces the training in your brain and body so you perpetuate those movement patterns and any associated aches and pains accompanying them. Your joints may currently 'think' the partial range available to them is all they have because you never try to move them properly, but your brain and your body are always willing to learn.
What this means is that it is never too late to create positive change in your life and the sooner you get to it, the sooner you are reinforcing the pattern so that it becomes standard. The saying to keep on your mind is "Practice makes permanent" - what are you practising?
Jonathan Clark - Level 2 Coach at Dax Moy Personal Training Studios.
Although it seems obvious enough that the brain, along with the rest of the body, develops and grows as we become adults, there is some fine print. Clearly the size of the brain doesn't keep increasing exponentially - that could lead to some serious headaches - but the development doesn't just halt either. The billions of nerve cells in your brain are constantly laying down new pathways and remodelling older ones in response to what they are exposed to each and every day. It's not just the size of your brain that counts, but rather the efficiency of neural connections within it. Think about it - you don't suddenly reach a point where there is no room in your head to learn some new information or a new skill. As frustrating as many car park pay points can be, we figure them out eventually. Many people take up a hobby in adult life that they never even thought of as a child without any problem whatsoever, and even excel at it. We know that learning is always possible, if we want it.
What can become problematic is when we use our current habits as 'reasons' for not trying something different to our regular routine. We convince ourselves that it's too late or wouldn't do any good anyway. While it's understandable that there are certain experiences we don't need to have gone through to know they won't be our cup of tea, if we're honest, there have been cases where we relied on our excuses about routine to avoid something we could have and should have done. If you are perfectly content with everything in your life, that's wonderful and maybe you could try something new for fun. If there are things you are currently unhappy with and could change, why not make a start sooner rather than later?
The reason it's so important to keep challenging yourself and learning new things is that the well known "Use it or lose it" applies strongly in this case. Not only does it apply to your mind, but your body too. Your body adapts to deal with what it has to handle on a daily basis, so how long you spend sitting, moving, stressing will shape who and what you become. Most of the postural problems I've encountered in my clients tend to be a result of poor habits - sadly, most of us have learned to move (or not move) in a similar fashion and the resulting postural problems are obvious and growing in number. Neuroplasticity to the rescue!
Once a movement pattern has been trained, it takes approximately 10 times the number of movements in a new pattern to 'unlearn' the old way and implant the new pattern as standard. But it can be done! What bears repeating is that persisting in poor posture, or other poor movement patterns, merely reinforces the training in your brain and body so you perpetuate those movement patterns and any associated aches and pains accompanying them. Your joints may currently 'think' the partial range available to them is all they have because you never try to move them properly, but your brain and your body are always willing to learn.
What this means is that it is never too late to create positive change in your life and the sooner you get to it, the sooner you are reinforcing the pattern so that it becomes standard. The saying to keep on your mind is "Practice makes permanent" - what are you practising?
Jonathan Clark - Level 2 Coach at Dax Moy Personal Training Studios.
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