Deep Practice: The Neuroscience of Faster Learning

Anyone who’s tried to learn a new language, master a new musical instrument, or train for a new sport understands that learning something new is not easy. It takes thousands of hours of drilling and focused practice to achieve competence.

Many popular techniques claim to be the most effective way to learn; for example one well-known theory states that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to master a skill, a blog on Psychology Today shares. However, deep practice via myelination, a method that relies on neuroscience, may be a more efficient and faster path to mastery. 

What is Myelination?
The nervous system is composed of cells called neurons that transmit thoughts, feelings, and actions in the form of electronic signals. The electronic messages travel through chains of neurons much like electricity transits through a circuit. The neural pathways are insulated by a substance called myelin.

Myelin acts in a similar way to the insulation that is wrapped around the wires of most common household electronics. When neurons are adequately insulated they can transit information at a much faster and more efficient rate. In fact, Forbes reports that neural pathways with a large amount of myelin can transmit messages up to 300 times faster than non-myleinated pathways.

Getting Started With Deep Practice
Deep practice, according to Psychology Today, is a method of learning new skills designed to deliberately strengthen neural pathways by stimulating the brain to build up sufficient myelin. The goal of deep practice is to speed up learning a new skill and make practice more efficient and effective.

Unlike other techniques for learning new skills, deep practice requires less of a time commitment. Adherents are encouraged to spend no more, and sometimes a lot less, than three to five hours a day practicing. However, participants must remain intensely focused during deep practice sessions.

To engage in deep practice, start by chunking the target skill into parts, and practice each sequentially. For example, if you are trying to learn to play golf, you might start by rehearsing and refining each stroke of the club. If you are studying art, you might explore drawing parts of a picture or even practicing how much pressure to apply when drawing different strokes. Go one step at a time, chunking the learning as much as possible. 

Deep practice is a faster and more efficient way to learn, however during the practices themselves it’s important to take things slow. Move deliberately slowly, playing a new song at half or a quarter speed, for example. This allows the brain to focus on each movement or component of the skill. It also allows you to correct mistakes in real time. The intense focus and the struggle to avoid and correct mistakes is what triggers the brain to produce myelin.

Benefits of Myelination
Forbes reports that myelination could improve much more than just your ability to learn new things. Myelination can be harnessed to change thought patterns, create new habits, and forge new emotional pathways.

By engaging in methods designed to build up myelin, adherents could learn to manage their feelings and combat difficult emotions such as anxiety. Myelination may also increase creativity and imagination.

With deep practice and the power of myelination, every small step forward builds stronger and more efficient neural pathways. Keep at it, and your brain will reward by helping you master new skills.