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Key points
- Brain research shows that there is a complex interplay between mind and body.
- Our brain's mapping of where we are in space is deeply connected to our thinking on topics and in ways that don’t seem aligned.
- If you make your brain work harder, continually updating where it is in space, it may work harder to encode memories.
One of the mysteries of the human mind we are only beginning to delve into is the relationship between thought and movement–how our brains and bodies relate to one another. That our physical bodies’ journey through space profoundly affects our thinking is not in question. What is uncertain so far is what effects there are and to what extent we can become aware of the links and optimize them.
The naive view of this connection is that our minds are in charge of our bodies. We direct them to do our bidding, and they do it. At one end of the spectrum is the beauty of a top athlete or musician with superb control of intention and result–a perfectly executed triple lutz or a Bach chaconne. At the other end is the desperately sad, slow decline of dementia.
The more sophisticated view that is emerging from brain research shows that there is a much more complex interplay between mind and body. For example, we move on to an unconscious intention before we are consciously aware of it. We reach for the glass of water to slake our thirst based on an unconscious urge, not a conscious one. The only reason we don’t get to watch our arms and wonder why they are moving is that the brain cleverly elides the millisecond gap, putting motion and thought in the "proper" order for our brains to feel in control.
An essential aspect of this growing understanding is the realization that our proprioception sense (our mapping of where we are in space) is deeply connected to our thinking on topics and in ways that don’t seem aligned. For example, if you want to improve your memory, the best thing you can do is climb a tree.
You read that right. To improve your memory, climb a tree. What’s the connection? If you make your brain work harder, continually updating where it (and the rest of you) is in space, then it seems to work harder to encode the memories it is making as it does so.
Studies show that we have more control over our memories in other ways. As we get older, we have more trouble encoding new memories because we are more easily distracted by "noise" in the signal we are trying to remember. By consciously working to eliminate older or unwanted memories, we can make space for new ones. And we can deliberately work with traumatic memories to alter them–and reduce their power.
Earlier studies show that if you hand us a warm cup of tea, we will have warmer thoughts about the person in front of us. If you have us hold a piece of sandpaper, we will think an interaction does not go as well (it’s rougher!) as one without holding sandpaper.
We can control our environments to an extraordinary degree. So, speakers, teachers, executives, and anyone for whom a particular human interaction is important, think hard about how your mind and your body–and the mind and body of your opposite number–are interacting.
As we learn more about the mind-body connection, the opportunities for sophisticated maximization of both grow in number and power. For now, if you want your audience, students, or negotiating partner to remember what you are talking about, climb a tree together–or at least go for a walk. Build some motion into your intellectual pursuits. Stay tuned!
