If you’ve ever been on a quest to build muscle or hit a new running PR, you already know the importance of exploring uncharted territory—activating your muscles in a new way or sticking with an exercise for a few seconds past the moment when you want to quit. And it turns out, leaving your comfort zone is equally beneficial for your brain.
It’s part of the reason why Lara V. Marcuse, MD, a board-certified neurologist and codirector of the Mount Sinai Epilepsy Program at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, has taken to one specific habit: learning to play the piano. She picked it up by chance about a decade ago, in her mid-40s, when her son began taking lessons, and she quickly found that it breathed new life into her everyday routine—and her cognition.
Read on to learn about the brain-related perks of Dr. Marcuse’s hobby and how to give your own mind the same supportive dose of novelty.
Why picking up a new skill can enhance your brain health
Taking up a hobby that’s unfamiliar forces your brain to exercise and strengthen rarely used neural pathways—and even create new ones. Over time, learning something new may also help thicken myelin, which is the layer of protein coating the neurons in your brain. The plumper that myelin sheath, the more efficiently your brain can transmit and process information—and the sharper you get at the task at hand. Taken together, these shifts may help lower your risk of cognitive decline and stave off dementia.
Playing an instrument, in particular, engages every facet of your brain. If you’ve ever looked at a sheet of music, you know it’s like a different language. You’re working to interpret the music itself while using both your auditory cortex (the hearing part of the brain) and your motor system to produce the right sounds with your hands. It’s no wonder a 2021 review of research on the brain effects of musical training found that learning to play music can enhance connections between certain parts of the brain. It also improves brain plasticity, which refers to ways your brain changes in response to external or internal factors, like a stroke or another traumatic brain injury, and how the brain adapts afterward.
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How to make learning a new skill a regular part of your life and reap the brain benefits
Your brain-bolstering activity of choice doesn’t have to be music-based, Dr. Marcuse says, as long as you’re interested in whatever you’re doing enough to want to commit to it. You can paint, try tai chi, or learn how to interpret tarot cards.
Just be sure the activity you choose requires some effort, Dr. Marcuse says. Watching the latest episode of Love Island won’t cut it, because you need your brain to be active, take in new information, digest it, and then put it back out there. Case in point: A 2014 study of older adults found that those who did a cognitive demanding activity (like learning digital photography or how to quilt) improved their memory over the course of three months, but participants who did more passive tasks experienced no such benefit.
You don’t have to do the activity every single day, or even for a very long time. “Just try to do it frequently,” Dr. Marcuse says. Sometimes all she has time for is a few bars or a couple of scales. Do whatever works for you, as long as you stay somewhat in the swing of a routine.
A 2020 study found that increasing the frequency with which you engage in your hobby (like doing crossword puzzles, playing board games, or reading the newspaper) decreases cognitive impairment and depressive symptoms in older populations. In other words, doing your hobby more often (even in little chunks) will be better for your overall well-being.
An added bonus of practicing regularly: Even though the idea of a routine may sound dull, maintaining one can reduce your stress levels and make you happier.
Chances are, as you dedicate time to learning a new skill, you’ll get better at it. But assigning metrics to your progress can suck the fun right out of the practice—which just makes you less likely to keep doing it (and to reap the brain-boosting benefits).
According to Dr. Marcuse, you don’t have to be good at the activity to protect your brain: “I never took music lessons as a kid. I’m not really good at it. I never will be.”
And despite not being the next Mozart, she says that playing the piano adds color and levity to her days, in addition to protecting her brain. “I really need that in my life—I have a very stressful job,” she says. “It makes me feel that the world is sort of full of beauty and hope.”
Related:
- Are There Any Foods That Can Actually Help Prevent Dementia?
- 3 Ways to Take Care of Your Mental Health as You Get Older
- 6 Habits Neurologists Swear By to Keep Their Brains Sharp
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