Learning to juggle changes your brain. Scientists have seen it on brain scans (see the study). You can start today, at any age.
Most people think juggling is a party trick. It's actually one of the best-studied ways to train the brain. And it feels good.
Adults practised juggling for three months. Brain scans showed growth in the areas that follow moving things. When they stopped, most of that growth faded.
Source: Draganski et al., Nature, 2004
That lost-in-it feeling is called flow. One theory is that during steady, rhythmic movement the thinking, self-critical part of the brain eases off for a while. It's an idea about exercise in general and hasn't been tested on juggling yet.
We haven't found solid research on juggling and stress hormones yet, so we share this as experience, not science.
This is what we see in ourselves and in people we teach. There isn't solid research yet showing it carries over to the rest of life.
Learn one small step at a time. Get each one comfortable before you add the next. That's how a skill sticks.
Studies of how people learn show that practice spread over several days sticks better than the same amount crammed into one go. In one study, trainee surgeons learned a new skill better in weekly sessions than in a single day.
Source: Cepeda et al., Psychological Bulletin, 2006 · Moulton et al., Annals of Surgery, 2006
Frequency over volume: little and often gets you further, in less time.
Three balls fit in a pocket. No gym, no booking. These are real ten-minute sessions, filmed on the road.
Handmade in Bangkok, in small batches. Three balls, ready to throw.
Buy a set on EtsyScientists have scanned the brains of people learning to juggle. Here's what they found, in plain English.
New jugglers grew the parts of the brain that track movement. When they stopped for three months, most of that growth faded. Keep practising and you keep it.
Want to go further? In an Oxford study, beginners who practised 30 minutes a day for six weeks showed changes in both grey matter and white matter (the brain's wiring).
Source: Draganski et al., Nature, 2004 · Scholz et al., Nature Neuroscience, 2009
Growth showed up on scans after three months, and some changes after just one week. People in their 60s showed changes too, though smaller. When practice stopped, the growth faded.
Source: Draganski et al., Nature, 2004 · Driemeyer et al., PLoS ONE, 2008 · Boyke et al., Journal of Neuroscience, 2008
Scientists call this idea “transient hypofrontality” (a short break for the front of the brain). It's a theory about exercise in general. Nobody has tested it on juggling specifically.
We haven't found a juggling study that measures stress hormones, so we share this as experience, not proof.
Juggling is a great way to practise learning itself. You see your mistakes straight away, they cost nothing, and you can feel yourself getting better.
“Juggling gets you into the flow state, because the key to juggling is to not think.”
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