HMN 2025: Repetition: The Neurological Secret Sauce

How can an object made up of three pounds of fat, water, protein, carbohydrates, and salt outperform the world’s most powerful computer? About 171 billion neurons give or take a few.

From the moment we are born, our brain acts like a vacuum cleaner, sucking up data from everything it encounters and storing it for later use, developing connections and forming hypotheses. Then, miraculously, we walk and talk. These are two very complex actions that require an incredibly long list of steps.

How memory controls everyday behavior

Our interactions range from the most complex to the simplest. rely on memory—A blueprint that the brain uses to guess how to perform a task for the first time or automatically for the 100,000th time.

For example, you may be motivated to replace your electrical faceplate because you were shocked when you touched exposed wires as a child. Three years ago I only used a screwdriver once. Still, relying on that memory, I inserted the screw into the hole, pointing the side down, picked up a Phillips screwdriver from my toolbox, held the handle, aligned the head of the screwdriver with the screw, and turned the screw clockwise. How was this complex task accomplished?

Your brain searches the memory, finds it, retrieves the steps, and instructs your hands on what to do. Since this was my second procedure, the movements were awkward compared to a carpenter performing the same work on 50,000 people.^Day hour.

overlap of memories

The neurological difference between your hesitant movements and the carpenter’s automatic actions lies in the relative strength of the “tightening memory.” The process is similar to applying successive layers of paint to a wall. With each layer, the color deepens and the surface becomes more resistant to scratches. Likewise, each time a carpenter repeats a task, his memory of how to tighten a screw becomes stronger, making it more robust to prevent quality from deteriorating.

When actions are automated

After several repetitions, the order of tightening the screws, etc.automatic” means it requires minimal effort to remember and is predictable. That’s what happened when I learned how to walk, memorize my favorite songs, and learn to type without looking at the keyboard. But like most habits, this behavior vulnerable to deterioration. Some movements, such as the two-handed backstroke in tennis, may have been performed only a few hundred times and are more vulnerable than others, such as walking, which may involve millions of steps.

repetition strategy

As we age, some of the skills we have acquired throughout our lives may be lost due to natural processes. neurological slowing down. You may not be able to bid as quickly as you did in bridge, or you may not remember all the words you need to bid. stairway to heavenThis is a song I constantly hummed during my college days. Physiological problems, such as Parkinson’s disease, can also cause other problems.

Regardless of the cause of your memory loss or your remaining strength, you can utilize five repetition strategies to restore or make some or all of your memories automatic.

Do it often. Practicing something often strengthens your memory of the components and execution of the behavior. Steph Curry reportedly takes 500 shots from midcourt before every game. Curry automatically created new behaviors through repetition.

When I had difficulty walking up stairs due to Parkinson’s disease, I practiced walking up and down 100 steps a day. It took several months for my falls to decrease significantly. I relearned behaviors that were once automatic. Unfortunately, there is no “standard” number of times an action must be repeated. repeat To create it automatically.

Practice your actions perfectly. Michael Phelps’ swimming coach reportedly had a rule. He allowed Phelps to practice until his stroke was perfect. The coach pulled him out of the water when he strayed even slightly from “perfection.” His rationale was that if Phelps was allowed to practice imperfect strokes, that’s what he would produce in competition.

Assume that you need to “refresh” your behavior. Even late in his life, the great violinist Jascha Heifetz practiced scales and techniques six to eight hours a day. According to Heifetz, less practice would cause his skills to deteriorate.

In neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson’s disease, “normal” behavior may not fully return (for example, you sometimes stumble down stairs). However, repetition will yield better results than “expecting” the automaticity of the behavior to resume. Without practice, it rarely does.

Practice slowly. Practice makes perfect. Just slowing down your repetitions increases your chances of success. Gradually increase the speed after a significant number of perfect repetitions.

Practice in a variety of environments. You too will probably have to give a speech at some point in your life. I practiced sitting in a quiet room and saying the words quietly. And then came the moment when I stood behind the podium, grabbed the microphone, and gave wedding speeches to the couple in front of 500 people, trying to hear the drunken laughter of someone who should have stayed home.

And what happened? Even though you’ve practiced your speech for hours, you end up panicking, stuttering, and forgetting half of it. why?

Your practice environment was in no way similar to the situation in which you gave your speech. No matter how often, perfectly, and slowly you practice, if you don’t recreate important features of your actual playing during your practice sessions, your repetitions will be less effective. This is known as generalization. In the example above, it would have been very helpful to stand and speak into the microphone.

takeout

Repetition is often criticized as boring and no substitute for creative thinking. Nothing could be further from the truth. Guided practice, or creative thinking without repetition, leads to great ideas with poor execution. If the greatest performers in sports and the arts claim that they excel because of repetitive practice, then if you’re in rehabilitation, don’t hesitate to spend time hitting a tennis ball against the back wall or practicing climbing stairs.