Learn Juggling And Enhance Brain Power

by Kirsten Whittaker


Researchers have observed that complex tasks, like if you learn juggling, create substantial changes to the structure of the brain.

The work finds a 5% enhancement in white brain tissue, the so-called wiring of the brain. Prior work indicates modifications because of experience in our grey matter, where processing and calculation takes place; enhancements within the white matter of the healthy adult brain haven't been exhibited, until now.

The subjects in this study had been taught a complicated visual/motor job, juggling 3 balls, and had brain scans at both the commencement and end of the study period.

The subjects comprised of a group of twenty-four healthy adults, none who knew how to juggle before the study started. The subjects were separated into two groups - one of the groups had weekly training in juggling, and were directed to practice for an additional 30 minutes each day. The other group was told not to change their routine.

Right after the 6 weeks, the 12 participants who were taught to juggle could do at least two constant cycles of a three ball juggling routine. Naturally, their skill levels varied quite a bit.

For the brain scans, the group applied a diffusion MRI that calculates the movement of water molecules in the brain cells. On the 6-week point, a 5% increase in white matter was identified in the rear region of the brain recognized as the intraparietal sulcus in the jugglers.

This element of the brain is shown to have nerve fibres that respond to stretching and grabbing for objects inside our side vision. Despite the fact that some subjects were greater jugglers than other people, all of them showed the changes in white matter.

The scientists theorize that the time spent training and practicing will be the key, as opposed to the level of skill the subjects had.

The clinical uses of this research are, admittedly, rather a lengthy way off. However they may possibly hold promise for neurological diseases like MS, where these white matter areas end up degraded.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is really a long-term, crippling neurodegenerative disease that appears in early adulthood, frequently between the years of 20 to 40, and is considered to impact as many as four women to every male.

The signs are highly diverse, and no one can predict the way in which your problem will progress. The good news is that you can find methods to assist handle signs and increase function. Still a lot about MS isn't clear - the trigger being among the most significant areas exactly where medicine needs to understand a lot more and analysis continues.

This latest finding enhances preceding work about changes in grey matter that come with training, and has scientists wondering about the cellular mechanisms that may possibly be at work.

For now, learning something new that is complicated and mentally challenging, could be just the thing to ensure a healthy, powerful brain. So, head into town and pick up some juggling balls and try juggling to boost your brain.




About the Author:

Now - pay a visit to the Daily Health Bulletin to discover more about how brain power is increased through learning juggling, plus for a short time only get 5 free fantastic health reports. Click through to discover more about this study about why it pays to learn juggling.

Soccer Drills: 3 Simple Steps To Juggling

by Andre Botelho


Let it be known! It requires a full session on juggling to bring all soccer drills to a conclusion. Every soccer player must learn and master this skill as it is very basic to the game. Both senior players and beginners get to benefit from this activity. Related soccer exercises involve the use of player's feet, thighs, and head to deal with the ball.

Using this as a warm up activity, players start to feel their muscles to become warm and the heart rate increasing in only about 10 minutes of juggling the ball, thus revealing its utility.

The players get to study the close ball skills and the way to control the ball with the help of juggling. Players learn to maneuver and control the ball in the middle of an opponent attack. Last but not the least, players develop confidence through juggling that makes them relax with the ball (a vital quality required for successful attack).

Throughout soccer practice, players get a chance to develop their special styles of juggling by practicing it separately. A handful of following tips will be of some use to you being the coach.

While juggling with the foot, the players should be taught to use the top of their foot or the laces. The legs must be sufficiently relaxed and the foot bent when it makes contact with the ball. Teach them to hold out their arms a little in order to maintain balance.

Train them to bring the knee up in order that the upper leg is horizontal while using the thighs to juggle. Help them understand that the contact with the ball should be made on the top of the thigh. It is crucial that the body is bent backwards a little and the arms pulled out straight so that balance is maintained.

It is difficult for the young players to juggle with the head. But during the soccer drills, it is important for them to practice it. It is required of the players to review the correct angle so that the forehead is brought in contact with the ball. They should hold the head sufficiently higher so that the eyes face the sky. The legs should be curved a little and straightened up every time a contact with the ball is achieved.

As supplementary to these soccer training techniques, ask the players to use shoulders, outside of the heels, and the back of the neck also. It becomes necessary to bring these contact points into use under certain special circumstances. The young players should enjoy feeling the ball on their laces because this is the area that they will use the most to shoot the ball.

To end, it is crucial that factors of rhythm and balance are emphasized. These help in juggling and therefore must be learnt. Coach the players to relax and foresee the movement of the ball. After practice, they will get proficient in juggling.

Now go ahead and show some juggling soccer drills to your kids. Our youth soccer coaching community is a treasure house of articles, tips and videos on juggling. Enroll today and let your kids enrich their skills.

About the Author

Andre Botelho is a recognized authority in Soccer drills and has already helped thousands of youth coaches to dramatically improve their coaching skills.

Expand Your 3 Ball Juggling Skills

by Steve Thomson aka Steve the Juggler


This article is written for ball jugglers whether they only know a few tricks or hundreds! It is based on the notes sent to me by Bill Berry of the amazing Team Rootberry in 2007, as well as some insights from an excellent workshop ran by the wonderful Haggis in 2008.



Stretch that Cascade! - Do not move your feet at all during this exercise. Try juggling a cascade while doing each of the following, and you will start to see the cascade in a whole different light!


  • move head forward, head back, to the side, to the other side

  • move right shoulder up, left shoulder up, both shoulders up, shoulders pushed back, shoulders hunched forward

  • juggle high, touch the ceiling with each ball, just miss the ceiling with each ball

  • juggle as low as you can (remember not to move your feet at all!)

  • juggle overhead, juggle overhead with the arms fully stretched

  • juggle with your arms straight (do not bend them at the elbows at all!)

  • now you can try standing on just the left leg, then just the right leg

  • and finally... juggle with your eyes closed!




Each of these variations in the simple cascade could be repeated with reverse cascade, reverse arms, and many other tricks, so repeat this exercise to improve your skills and expand your routines further!



Slow Isolations

Hold one ball in your hand. Try moving the ball with your wrist as loose as possible (as if you have a broken wrist). Now juggle two balls in one hand while demonstrating (as slowly as possible, and then try even slower) some fluid broken wrist movements with the ball in your other hand. Remember to repeat the trick with your weaker hand holding the ball!



Trick Isolations

While juggling two balls in your right hand, do some other trick with the ball in your left hand. This could be like a slow isolation (see above) or perhaps a throw under the leg and catch with the same hand. The left hand is doing a completely different trick and movement than the 2 ball juggle in the right hand. It is important to maintain a steady rhythm with the 2 ball juggle, otherwise these tricks can look very messy!



This article is just a starting point for improving even the simplest of ball juggling skills, and it could be repeated for different objects such as clubs and rings. I hope that you feel inspired to continue finding new and inventive ways of expanding your act! Please let me know how you get on and I would love to hear your ideas also! For further reading, you might want to try the excellent Ball Theory article on the JugglingDB website by Blake Speers, written in 1990.

About the Author

Steve Thomson is a professional juggler based in East Midlands. He has an online juggling store (UK only) called Jugglingworld.biz. To find more useful Juggling articles, you can sign up to his free Newsletter. Twitter name is @stevejuggler

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