#tds2928 Learning a new skill? Take short breaks

“…study suggests our brains may use short rest periods to strengthen memories. In a study of healthy volunteers, National Institutes of Health researchers found that our brains may solidify the memories of new skills we just practiced a few seconds earlier by taking a short rest. The results highlight the critically important role rest may play in learning.Everyone thinks you need to ‘practice, practice, practice’ when learning something new. Instead, we found that resting, early and often, may be just as critical to learning as practice.” NIH study

Rest, rest, rest? In a study of healthy volunteers, NIH researchers found that taking short breaks, early and often, may help our brains learn new skills. Courtesy of Cohen lab, NIH/NINDS. Source

Today, read the article to learn more about the study. Although the authors say “Whether these results apply to other forms of learning and memory formation remains an open question.” their evidence does suggest that rest between practice periods matters. May be try this out next time you set out to learn a new skill like playing the piano.

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This Daily Stillness has been recycled from previously published ones:

• #tds2764 Learning a new skill? Take short breaks (Jan 21, 2023)