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>>the mental-exercise group physically increased the strength of one of their fingers by imagining, repeatedly, over the course of about three months, that they
by hellofunk 11y ago
>>the mental-exercise group physically increased the strength of one of their fingers by imagining, repeatedly, over the course of about three months, that they were exercising it. They didn’t have to lift a finger in order to convince their brains that they were, in fact, lifting a finger.
Wow! Now that is something to think about. No pun intended. But wow. Mind over matter, literally.
- michaelbuddy 11y agothis is something I believe really works for things that are hard to do. For exdample pick any activity with a difficulty of balance. visualization, especially structured consistent visualization over a time period I think will make an impact. I don't know this but I think more tests are needed. I also think there is something to visulization healing. But it makes you wonder, if it works, how is it working and what are the limitations. And if there are limitations, why are there limitations. It's like the matrix, some rules can be bent, others can be broken i guess.
- hellofunk 11y agoTruer words are rarely spoken.
- throwaway7767 11y agoI wonder how they controlled for the ideomotor effect - if you think about moving a muscle without moving it, you tend to still flex/move it slightly even without noticing it. This might be enough to explain the strength increae.
- kale 11y agoSome strength gains from strength training are a result of more neurons making connections from the motor center of the brain to the muscle tissue. Thinking about moving a muscle might make more neurons form to the muscle, making more of them contract when it does move.