Sleep Can Help Your Golf Swing Improve
By Dr. T. J. Tomasi, Keiser University College of Golf Senior Faculty and Director of Research
Even if you’re not a Darwinist, it just makes sense that sleep must be important because we spend a third of our lives doing it and feeling better. But sleep does more than recharge our batteries. Dr. Jan Born, PhD of the University of Lübeck in Germany, has proved that, in sleep, the brain decides what info to keep and what to forget. He reports, “Our results show that memory consolidation during sleep involves a basic selection process determining which of the many pieces of the day’s information is sent to long-term storage. Our findings also indicate that information relevant for future demands is selected foremost for storage.”
This consolidation by tag process is the same for motor learning, like your golf swing (procedural learning), with declarative memory composed of facts and word meanings. Each day, you take in a considerable amount of both kinds of information, and your brain marks the experiences you deem essential. During sleep, the tagged info is shuttled from the pre-frontal cortex to your hippocampus, where it consolidates into memories. Dr. Born says it improves tagging when the person knows they need the information soon. In other words, importance increases tagging.
So, to learn your golf swing, you must designate the experience as important and then sleep on it. I ask my students to write down the important elements of the lesson with the realization that they will use the lesson as an important part of swing reconstruction, and the sooner they have it in place, the sooner their swing will be complete. They place this bullet point list next to their bed and read it before sleep, thereby putting the power of the sleep process outline to work.
This young golf pro will hit many buckets of balls in his career, embedding the movements until they become second nature.
Learn more!
Want more tips? If you want to take your game to the next level, contact our team at Keiser University’s College of Golf & Sport Management today. With our dedication and experience, together, we can elevate your game to new heights. Give us a call today at 888-355-4465.
