Juggling: the new brain fitness trend
2
It may be one of the hippest ways to stay fit, but circus arts offers healthy payoffs for your mind, too, say scientists from Oxford University. Rosie Brogan reports.
- Health hub/
- Stress relief & sleep support/
- Juggling: the new brain fitness trend
“Even personal trainers get bored of exercising,” says gym instructor Marlo Reneyke, when asked for advice on how to stick with a fitness routine. “It’s just a like relationship: you have to work to hard to keep things interesting.”
Her solution? Juggling. Reneyke attends circus training once a week at the National Institute of Circus Arts in the Melbourne suburb of Prahran. “I love it because I need to concentrate so intently on what I’m doing that I don’t have the headspace to get bored,” she explains.
Now researchers from Oxford believe that while Reneyke’s mind blanks out to keep balls in the air, it’s also getting its own workout—one that increases its connectivity.
The study examined changes in the brain’s white matter following a six-week course of juggling training. Forty-eight young healthy adults were divided into two groups: one was asked to practice juggling for thirty minutes each day, while the other served as a control group.
Researchers saw changes in the white matter in the juggling group, compared to the group that had no training. “These changes were in regions in the brain which are involved in reaching and grasping in the periphery of vision,” said Dr Heidi Johansen-Berg from Oxford’s Department of Clinical Neurology.
Regardless of how slick their juggling skills became, all showed white matter activity and change—indicating that the mere process of learning produces positive results.
“We tend to think of the brain as being static, or even beginning to degenerate once we reach adulthood,” said Johansen-Berg. “In fact we find the structure of the brain is ripe for change.”
Teach yourself to juggle
“Start with two balls, and keep your eye on where they peak when you throw them in the air,” suggests Reneyke. “If you practice throwing them to the same point each time, they will eventually fall in the same place—in other words, drop right into your hands. When you’ve got that mastered, add a third or even a forth ball.”
Google the word ‘juggling’ and you’ll be flooded with You Tube results. What better way to learn that watch jugglers in action? Most offer step-by-step instructions.
Join a circus school or pop along to casual classes. Some programs include:
- Adelaide: Cirkidz and Circa Rock n’ Roll Circus
- Byron Bay: Flying Trapeze Australia
- Canberra:Warehouse Circus
- Melbourne: National Institute of Circus Arts
- Perth: The WA Circus School
- Sydney: Circus Arts Sydney
We accept
