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Martial arts can improve your attention span and alertness long term – new study

Press/Media: Expert Comment

Description

Article published in The Conversation by Ashleigh Johnstone, PhD student in the project, featuring Johnstone & Mari-Beffa (2018)

Period20 Feb 2018

Media contributions

1

Media contributions

  • TitleMartial arts can improve your attention span and alertness long term – new study
    Degree of recognitionInternational
    Media name/outletThe Conversation
    Media typeWeb
    Duration/Length/Size800 words
    Country/TerritoryUnited Kingdom
    Date20/02/18
    DescriptionMartial arts require a good level of physical strength, but those who take up training need to develop an incredible amount of mental acuity, too.
    Mental strength is so important to martial arts that researchers have found karate experts’ stronger punching force may be down to a better control of muscle movement in the brain, rather than increased muscular strength.
    Which leads to an interesting question – does taking part in martial arts cause the brain to develop better control, or do people with these brain characteristics choose to do martial arts? It is something that our team has been researching, with interesting results.While it could be argued that martial arts simply are among many activities that can lead to better health, what we and other researchers have found is that their practice is one of those rare crossovers that helps significantly improve the brain just as much as the body.
    Producer/AuthorAshleigh Johnstone
    URLhttps://theconversation.com/martial-arts-can-improve-your-attention-span-and-alertness-long-term-new-study-91798
    PersonsPaloma Marí-Beffa, Ashleigh Johnstone

Keywords

  • Martial Arts
  • Executive Functions