Why Practice Makes Perfect

Why Practice Makes Perfect
You’ve probably heard it many times before. Your parents, teachers, coaches, and even the internet all tell you to “PRACTICE! PRACTICE! PRACTICE”. Sometimes we don’t want to practice, or study, so we don’t, and when we pick up that activity again, we’re kind of… rusty. Practicing is what helps us (not become perfect because no one is perfect) become better and able to excel at a certain activity. Improvement only comes from consistent practice. But how exactly does practice make us better, or “perfect”?

OUR BRAIN!
In our brain, we have grey and white matter. Grey matter is the part that processes the information in your brain. White matter consists of myelin, a fatty material that covers the axons in our neurons. Neurons are your brain cells! In the middle of them, they have long structures called axons that look like a really, really long chain, and this is where signals from your brain go through to get to the next neuron, a brain cell. Myelin sheaths are like these little blankets that cover these long axons and help make your brain signals travel faster, jumping from axon and axon. This plays a part in you having fast reactions!

So how does more myelin, which comes from more practice, help you do better? How does myelin lead to practice making perfect? The faster signals are traveling down your neurons from your brain to your muscles, the faster your muscles are able to move and work efficiently. There was also a study done comparing novice and professional musicians, who practice more than novices. There was a lot more white matter/myelin in the brains of the experts than the novices, which means that the increase in myelin is somewhat connected to the greater amount of practice.

Now that we are done with the brainy stuff, you have to remember that only GOOD practice makes perfect. If you’re practicing but you are only working on things you’re already good at and not focusing on parts that you are weak in, the practice won’t help. Practice only works if you are improving on parts you need to work on!

The next time someone tells you to go practice, now you know why!