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Essay

In praise of downtime

By Michael Pronko


「ダウン」する時間を賛美する

コンピューターの関連機器が「ダウン」するのは困りものだが、私たちの脳にとっては、「ダウン」、つまり休んでいる時間はとても貴重なのだと筆者は言う。 なぜなら、「ダウン」している間に、事前に学習したことをきちんと身に付けようとして、新たな神経回路が作られるからなのだそうだ。

Summertime is almost over and with it one of the best parts of the year -- downtime. "Downtime" is a word borrowed from the world of computers. Originally it meant the time when a computer was out of action or unavailable for use, as in "The server is down." Nowadays, the word has come to mean any time people relax or unwind by changing their routines and not doing too much.

Recent studies in neuroscience have found that downtime is more than fun — it's a necessity. With the help of cross-disciplinary studies and brain-imaging technologies, the processes of the brain have been better understood in recent years. One of the important findings is the brain's need for relaxing, having fun, and sleeping. The recent findings prove what the psychologist and philosopher William James speculated in the late 1800s: "We learn to swim in winter and skate in summer."

What James meant was that learning takes place once we get away from the subject.

After trying to learn something, like swimming or skating — anything really — we have to give the brain time to create new neural pathways for that skill. Ironically, we learn long after we stop practicing. Whether for schoolwork or a new task in one's career, the brain needs to not work for a while and just relax.

Of course, the brain never really stops working. One of the surprising discoveries of recent neuroscience is that the brain can continue to grow even in old age. But to keep growing, the brain needs unproductive time. Too much concentration results in superficial thinking and increased anxiety, which interfere with growth. To develop skills, as well as creativity and understanding -- the essential components of work, life and learning -- the brain just has to take a holiday.

All school kids moan about having to write the "What I did this summer" essay. But in fact, the brain is always writing and rewriting its neural connections. That is a process that cannot be forced, but has to be given time. An old Chinese story tells of an impatient farmer who wanted his rice seedlings to grow faster, so he went out at night and pulled each one up a few centimeters, causing them, of course, to wither and die. The human brain is as organic as those rice seedlings.

Summertime, of course, is one of the best times for the brain to let its roots grow deep. That means summer vacation is one of the most important parts of the year, not just for students, but for workers too. So, if you want your brain to grow, both ancient wisdom and modern neuroscience show the importance of giving it some downtime.



Shukan ST: September 16, 2011

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