Doctors assessed the effect of brushing teeth with their left hand on brain function
Popular tips for brushing teeth with your left hand to develop memory have nuances. Neurologists and psychologists have explained the benefits of such exercises. All the details are in the Izvestia article.
The effectiveness of simple exercises
The brain's ability to adapt to new conditions is called neuroplasticity. It is activated when a person learns complex skills, such as playing musical instruments or juggling. However, simply brushing your teeth with an unaccustomed hand does not create the same powerful load on the organ.
Ekaterina Demyanovskaya, a neurologist, candidate of medical Sciences and expert at the Hemotest Laboratory, explained that when using a toothbrush with a non-working hand, mainly motor areas are involved. They are not directly connected to speech or memory centers. Therefore, training only improves the dexterity of a particular hand, without guaranteeing progress in language learning.
"Scientists have found that all the structural changes that a person has achieved through training disappear a few months after they stop. The brain is essentially economical: it will not waste energy on maintaining connections that you have stopped using," says Demyanovskaya.
Alternative development methods
To maintain a clear mind, it is necessary to load exactly those functions that a person wants to develop. The skill of clear speech requires constant complication of speech tasks, and memory requires regular memorization training. The doctor recommends learning foreign languages or memorizing poetry to achieve a real effect.
The general condition of the body also plays an important role. Stable blood pressure, normal glucose levels, quality sleep and physical activity protect the brain from premature aging more effectively than one-time exercises.
"Learning a foreign language, playing the guitar, memorizing poetry, or just choosing a new unusual route to the store is what creates the right workload. These classes are difficult, they activate and force several functional zones to interact at once," Demyanovskaya said.
Application in medicine and pedagogy
The method of training a non-working arm is of particular value in medicine during rehabilitation after a stroke. When a right-handed patient's right arm stops working, the brain is forced to transfer functions to the surviving hemisphere. In everyday life, without serious necessity, such workouts give only a temporary novelty effect.
Neuropsychologist Maria Todorova notes that for children such tasks can be useful for the development of interhemispheric interaction. For the elderly, a change in habitual actions becomes an element of the prevention of cognitive impairment.
The brain tends to automate any repetitive processes to save resources. As soon as the action reaches automatism, the developing effect disappears. Therefore, the specialist advises to consider changing hands only as an addition to a healthy lifestyle.
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