What is Neuroplasticity and Why is it so Important for Body Strength?

With each passing day, fitness experts and the scientific community is becoming more convinced of the profound connection between the brain and the body. Mind training is said to have an impact on physical fitness, the same way physical exercises and workouts are reported to positively influence the brain.

If you want to enjoy a longer, healthier, and better life, it’s about time you adopt a fitness approach focusing on the mind-muscle connection.

But how to capitalize on the brain and body connection to gain physical fitness and vice versa? The answer is learning about neuroscience, neuroplasticity, and the mind-body connection. If you want to gain physical strength, a smarter brain, and healthier life, then read on to find everything you need to know.

What is Neuroplasticity?

Neuroplasticity, also known as brain plasticity, is the brain’s ability to adapt, adjust, and grow on the basis of experiences and needs. This means that, albeit the earlier belief of neuroscience experts that the brain only grows till a certain age, the process of brain development continues lifelong, and the brain cells, neurons, are elastic in nature.

Why is Neuroplasticity Important?

Neuroplasticity is the ability of the brain to cater to the ever-changing needs of the body. In case of injuries, traumas, delays, and difficulties, it’s neuroplasticity that helps the brain adapt and overcome the challenges. For many years, neuroplasticity was perceived to be only a feature of young brains; however, it’s now suggested that neuroplasticity can be benefited from at any age.

This is why medical experts recommend strengthening the brain to prevent memory loss, Alzheimer’s, and other cognitive illnesses. Alongside, by using the power of neuroplasticity, fitness coaches have helped people gain unmatched physical strength too.

Types of Neuroplasticity

There are essentially three types of neuroplasticity processes that our brain can perform during a lifetime.

Chemical Neuroplasticity:

Chemical neuroplasticity refers to the production of chemicals in the body due to certain activities. This plasticity impacts short-term memory and is often temporary. One example of chemical neuroplasticity is the role of workouts and exercise in reducing depression symptoms for a certain time period.

Structural Neuroplasticity

Whenever the brain is challenged or put into an uncomfortable position, structural neuroplasticity takes place. This means that your brain alters its structures, generates new signals, and commands fiber bunches to form new tissues to cater to a need. This is a common way for neuroscience and fitness experts to enhance muscle strength by training the brain for structural neuroplasticity.

Functional Neuroplasticity

Functional neuroplasticity takes place when a brain part is damaged, and the healthy brain parts take over in its place. This helps the brain support the body for motor skills despite the damage to the brain part responsible for the said motor skill.

This type of neuroplasticity is extremely useful for those suffering from post-trauma cognitive disabilities. The healthy parts of the brain continue to function in place of the damaged part, thus ensuring that physical injuries do not become a lifelong disability.

How to Improve Neuroplasticity?

If you want to live healthier both mentally and physically, it’s about time you incorporate the learnings of neuroscience training in your life. In addition to following a regime, here’s what you can get started with.

Challenge your Brain

Put your brain in uncomfortable and unfamiliar situations. This means that you should learn a new skill, make some music, write poetry, or play a sport that you have never played before. Make it hard for your brain to adapt to this new situation by choosing a hard-to-learn skill and seeing how it improves brain function.

Repeat the Activities

If you want your brain to become efficient at a certain activity, you need to be persistent with your routine. Constant, slow-paced, repetitive movements can alter the brain’s capabilities and responses. By repeating the activities, you’ll be able to help your brain anticipate and learn high performance in advance.

Focus-Based Approach

The focus-based approach refers to the process of taking a microscopic approach to matters. If you want your brain’s part that learns names to become efficient, focus on it while learning new names. If you want to build a bicep muscle, focus while working out. Put your brain’s sole attention into what you’re doing to tell it that it’s too important to ignore!

Set Your Goals

The brain fancies some rewards that help it release the ‘happy hormones.’ Whenever you’re challenging your brain or focusing on developing a skill, consider its outcome. Make sure you have a goal or accomplishment that will reward your brain upon fulfilling the need. Without rewards, you’ll be just exhausting your brain with not much of a positive outcome.

Tips for the Brain’s Health

Just like your body, the brain also needs nourishment in order to perform up to its potential. If you want to benefit from improved neuroplasticity, you have to first provide your brain with the ideal conditions to perform. Here’s how you can improve your brain’s health:

Sleep Well

Sleep is known to have many physical and mental health benefits. Set a sleeping routine to offer the additional support your brain needs to work effectively.

Environment Matters

Enriched and healthy environments have a direct relationship with healthier brain activities. For your brain to perform at its optimum capacity and beyond, you must surround yourself with positive influences, happy vibes, and an environment that’s supplementing your brain’s growth.

Get the Right Coaching

To leverage neuroscience and gain physical and mental fitness, you must reach out to a neuroscience trainer for the right guidance. An expert will help you identify the pathways for your neuron development and help you unleash the power of neuroplasticity to transform your life in unimaginable ways.

Start Today to Live Tomorrow

If you want to benefit from neuroscience and the wonders of neuroplasticity, get in touch with a fitness coach and expert, Jean Fallacara. The serial entrepreneur and fitness expert will help you gain fitness through a biohacking approach, neuroscience, and cyborg training.