Repetition: The Neurological Secret Sauce

How can something consisting of three pounds of fat, water, protein, carbohydrates, and salts outperform the most powerful computers in the world? Neurons, approximately 171 billion, give or take a few.

From the moment we are born, the brain functions as a vacuum cleaner, sucking in data from everything it encounters, storing it for future use, developing connections, and making hypotheses. And then, miraculously, we walk and talk—two very complex behaviors that require an incredibly long list of steps.

How Memories Control Everyday Behaviors

Our interactions, from the most complicated to the simplest, depend upon memories—blueprints the brain uses to guess how to do something for the first time or automatically for the 100,000th.

For example, you might be motivated to replace an electrical faceplate because you were shocked when you touched a bare wire as a child. You only used a screwdriver once three years ago. Still, relying on that memory, you insert the screw into the hole, point side down, pick a Phillips screwdriver from the toolbox, grasp the handle, align the head of the screwdriver with the screw, and then turn the screw clockwise. How were you able to accomplish this complicated task?

Your brain searched for a memory, found it, retrieved the steps, and instructed your hands on what to do. Since this is only the second time you have performed the procedure, your movements were awkward compared to a carpenter doing the same task for the 50,000^th time.

Layering of Memories

The neurological difference between your hesitant movements and the carpenter’s automatic behavior lies in the comparative strength of the “screwing memory.” This process is akin to applying successive layers of paint to a wall; the color deepens with each layer, and the surface becomes more resistant to scuffing. Similarly, the memory of how to tighten a screw grew stronger each time the carpenter repeated the task, making it more robust against deterioration.

When Behaviors Become Automatic

After many repetitions, a sequence, such as tightening a screw, may become “automatic,” meaning it requires minimal effort to recall and is predictable. That’s what happened when you learned to walk, memorized a favorite song, and learned how to type without looking at the keys. However, just like most habits, these behaviors are susceptible to deterioration. Some, like a two-handed backstroke in tennis, which may have only been performed a few hundred times, are more vulnerable than others, like walking, with steps numbering in the millions.

Repetition Strategies

As you age, some skills you’ve mastered over your lifetime may fade due to a natural neurological slowing. You may not bid as swiftly as you once did in bridge or remember all the words to Stairway to Heaven, a tune you constantly hummed in college. Other problems may arise from physiological issues, such as Parkinson’s Disease.

Regardless of the reason for memory loss or the remaining strength, five repetition strategies can be utilized to recover part or all of the memory or make it automatic.

Do It Often. Practicing something often strengthens the memory of the behavior’s components and execution. Stef Curry supposedly takes 500 shots from midcourt before each game. Curry made a new behavior automatic through repetition.

When I had problems tripping on steps due to Parkinson’s, I practiced going up and down 100 steps a day. It took several months before my tripping was significantly reduced. I relearned a behavior that once had been automatic. Unfortunately, there is no “standard” number of times an act should be repeated to make it automatic.

Practice the Behavior Perfectly. It was said that Michael Phelps’s swimming coach had a rule: He allowed Phelps to practice as long as his strokes were perfect. With the slightest deviation from “perfect,” the coach pulled him out of the water. His rationale was that if he allowed Phelps to practice an imperfect stroke, that would be what he would produce in competition.

Assume the Behavior Will Need to be “Refreshed.” The great violinist Jascha Heifetz practiced scales and techniques for six to eight hours a day, even late in his life. Practicing any less, according to Heifetz, would result in a reduction of his skill.

With a neurodegenerative disease like Parkinson’s, “normal” behaviors may not be completely regained (e.g., I occasionally stumble on stairs). Still, the repetition will result in a better outcome than “hoping” the automaticity of the behavior will resume. Without practice, it rarely does.

Practice Slowly. If you will be practicing, you will need to do it perfectly. Just slowing down the repetitions increases the likelihood of success. After a significant number of perfect repetitions, gradually increase the speed.

Practice in Many Settings. You have probably had to deliver a speech at some time in your life. You practiced in a quiet room, sitting and silently saying the words. And then came the moment when you delivered the wedding wishes to the couple in front of 500 people, standing behind a podium, speaking into a microphone, and trying to be heard over the drunken laughter of someone who should have remained home.

And what happened? You panicked, fumbled, and forgot half of the speech despite practicing it for hours. Why?

Your practice setting was not at all similar to the situation in which you delivered the speech. No matter how often, perfectly, or slowly you practice, repetition will be less effective unless you replicate the critical features of the actual performance during your practice sessions. This is known as generalization. In the example above, speaking into a microphone while standing would have been very helpful.

The Takeaway

Repetition is often criticized as boring and a poor substitute for creative thought. Nothing could be further from the truth. Creative thought without guided practice—repetition—leads to great ideas with poor execution. If the greatest performers in sports and the arts assert that they excel due to repetitive practice, don’t hesitate to spend time hitting that tennis ball against the back wall or practicing climbing stairs if you are in rehabilitation.