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Practice and repetition eases our path

 


Acquiring mastery in any skill takes practice. Practice is nothing but a successive repetition of beneficial actions towards our goal. Practice eases our path and also increases speed and confidence. What happens in our brain when we practice? The better part is that practice makes us better at things. Our brain consists of two types of tissue: grey matter and white matter. The grey matter helps in processing the information and directing signal and sensory action to nerve cells. While the white matter is mainly composed of fatty tissues and nerve fibres. In order to respond correctly, information needs to travel from grey matter to a chain of nerve fibres called axons to our muscles.  

"How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives."

How does practice influence the working of our brain? 

The axons are a projection of a nerve cell that typically transmits an electrical impulse from one neuron to another. The axons in the white matter are encapsulated with a fatty substance called myelin. Myelin is an insulating layer that forms around nerves made up of protein and fatty substances. Myelin's covering seems to change with practice. Myelin is similar to the insulation of wires, allowing electrical impulses to transmit quickly and efficiently along with the nerve cells. Myelin's sheath prevents energy loss from an electrical signal that travels between neurons. 

Recent studies in mice suggest that practice or repetition of activity increases the layers of myelin around axons. The greater the myelin layer, the greater the insulation around the axons. This creates a superhighway for information to travel from the brain to the muscles. Muscle memory, In reality, muscles don't have memory. Instead of muscle memory, it may be the myelination of neural pathways. These myelinations give athletes and performers their square of success. 


How can we get the most out of our practice time?

In a recent study, researchers observed 260 students studying. The result shows that on average, students were able to focus for only six minutes at a time. Laptops, smartphones, and social media were the root cause of most distractions. Start slowly, muscle coordination is built with repetitions. And if we gradually increase the speed and periodicity of the quality repetition, we have a better chance of doing great things. Repetition with an appropriate cycle of intervals is a common practice of top performers. Studies found that many top athletes spend around 50-60 hours of practice sessions. Finally, visualization surprises me a lot. Several studies show that if a physical motion is accomplished once, it can be reinforced with imagination. Effective practice will push our limits and maximize our potential strength. 



Tips for effective practice

  1. Create an atmosphere. Get set, make your place good. Make sure you have everything near you like water, a book...  
  2. Have a goal. Traveling without an endpoint is literally of no meaning. Have a proper goal and sufficient time to complete it. 
  3. Be realistic. It’s about quality, not quantity. You should aim to practice smarter. By setting small and realistic goals, you can able to accomplish tricky parts much easier. 
  4. Identify your mistakes. Don't commit the same mistake again and again. Identify where you are stumbling then sort out how you are going to fix it. 
  5. Be grateful, reward yourself. gift yourself wherever you achieve something.  

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