Why I'm learning to juggle

and other brain adventures

I’m learning to juggle.

So far, I can (kind of) juggle two balls. I’m aiming for three. Why? you may ask (a perfectly reasonable question). When I was a kid, I wanted to go to clown school, so perhaps it’s something to do with getting older and the eternal draw of nostalgic thinking.

It certainly has something to do with age, and my efforts to stall the fear-inducing approach of cognitive decline; like my efforts to play the guitar or learn German.

The language learning isn’t going too well, but that doesn’t mean I’m never not amazed at what we can accomplish when we set our minds to it; three years ago I couldn’t run a lap of my local park without becoming a dishevelled whimpering mess. Last year I completed a half-marathon. Our bodies can adapt, as can our brains.

When I was researching Smarter, I read a host of academic papers on how learning as we get older can, to some extent, slow (and sometimes reverse) mental decline. What we learn matters, of course, and languages and musical instruments tend to give the biggest bang for your buck.

I also came across a paper from 2008 that found that more mature participants who learned to juggle exhibited increased neurogenesis and plasticity in the hippocampus. So I’m doubling down on my motor skills by adding juggling to my repertoire.

I’m quite fond of my 80-odd-billion brain cells and would like to keep them for as long as I can!

You might have noticed from my last post that this is becoming a bit of a hobby of mine, that is, examining ways to increase my healthy life expectancy, if not actually live forever like that fella in the US who received his son’s blood and spends every day of his life trying not to die (and probably forgets to live in the process!).

The learning sciences can tell us an awful lot about how people acquire knowledge, understanding, and new skills, but less about how this process progresses in later life.

I took up running and have added some resistance training to my repertoire so I’m less likely to fall and break something (like my neck) as I inch closer to 60! We don’t live long in my family, in fact my brothers and I all celebrated when our eldest sibling hit 60 - he’s currently the oldest living member of the Smith clan.

The longevity paradox

As we age, we’re expected to slow down, both physically and mentally. Yet, remaining physically and cognitively active enhances our later lives. Our capacity to learn new things and retain information steadily increases until our twenties before declining, becoming more noticeable in our fifties and sixties. Much of this is related to what cognitive scientists call processing speed. Not all the research is consistent, however, and a 2022 study found that this might not begin until our sixties (so I’m not quite there yet).

We do become more cautious, however, so unlike the younger generation, older people might stop and think longer about something before reacting, as though years of experience have curtailed our more impulsive side.

The brain certainly slows down, and cognitive decline is an inevitable side-effect of the ageing brain. Cognitive decline is thought to be related to decreased neurogenesis, or the brain’s ability to create new brain cells. It might come as little surprise that one region of the brain most connected to this is the hippocampus, more specifically a deep structure within it called the dentate gyrus. Brain cells in the dentate gyrus somehow lose the ability to produce new neurons. This is obviously quite worrying, especially as we’re living much longer than we once did.

The once widely held belief was that by the time the human brain reached maturity, that was pretty much it. The belief was that by late childhood (around seven or eight years old) the brain was fully developed following a period of rapid synaptogenesis. But we now know that a second period of brain development takes place during adolescence and can continue until our early twenties. By the mid-1980s, scientists also concluded that even the mature brain continues to create new neurons. This means that to slow down cognitive decline, we need to ensure the brain continues to create neurons (and connections between them). One of the most effective ways to accomplish this is to keep learning.

How resilient our brains are to this downturn depends on several biological and social factors. Genetics plays a role, but so do lifestyle and educational background. We know, for example, that people who engage in education for longer not only increase their longevity but also have a higher healthy life expectancy (or the number of years we are expected to live in good health).

Cognitive Reserve.

The reasons education has such an impact are, themselves, multifaceted. Higher educated individuals can often make more reasoned lifestyle choices (such as healthy eating, exercising, and refraining from smoking and heavy alcohol consumption). But learning also adds to what scientists call cognitive reserve.

Cognitive reserve pertains to how agile our brains are, such as the ability to find alternative ways to accomplish a task and cope with challenges. Cognitive reserve theory also attempts to explain how life-experiences, complex occupations, and social engagement build brain resilience, allowing individuals to maintain cognitive function despite brain damage or aging.

We build cognitive reserve primarily through learning, not simply because learning adds to our store of knowledge, but because learning and engagement in cognitively stimulating activities, builds a more efficient and resilient brain.

How to increase cognitive reserve.

Reading.

Reading provides a myriad of cognitive benefits. First, reading widens our vocabulary and literary confidence, helping the brain create meaning from the written word. Reading also increases our general knowledge. We might, therefore, learn something new about the world in which we live, grapple with complex ideas, or learn about how to become more healthy. Fiction nurtures imagination and curiosity, which are the major building blocks of knowledge and understanding. Both fiction and non-fiction can increase what learning science calls metacognition, or learning how to learn, solve problems, and think critically.

Playing games.

Children often learn through playing games, but adults can also benefit. This might be traditional games such as chess and games of chance, but studies have also found that older people can increase brain function through video games, particularly in brain regions associated with processing speed, reaction time, and spatial awareness.

Skills learning.

A plethora of studies have found that learning a skill (including juggling!) can slow and even reverse mild cognitive decline.

Physical activity.

Walking, running, yoga, and aerobics keep the heart and cardiovascular system in good shape, ensuring that the resource-hungry brain continues to function optimally.

The social connection.

Regular social contact can have a major impact on the brain, and consequently on longevity and healthy life expectancy. Thankfully, many of the suggestions above can take place in a social setting. You might, therefore, attend an evening class to learn a new skill, socialise during an aerobics class, join a running club, or even form a band.

My latest book Smarter: Lessons from the New Science of Learning is out now!