Want Improved Performance?

[PocketPlayer]

I thought this was interesting...

Want Improved Performance? Sleep On It

When people sleep after learning new motor skills, such as playing sports or performing surgery, they perform the task better than those who do not sleep.
Sleep after practice optimizes the formation of long-lasting memories of the newly acquired skills, according to researchers. Sleep after practice improved speed by about 34% and reduced errors by about 30% in the study.
Previous research has shown that sleep optimizes the brain's ability to remember facts and events. Recent studies are also suggesting that sleep helps build the procedural, or "how to" memory.
Researchers are now trying to understand how motor skills are optimized by sleep, including which chemicals in the brain are involved. Part of the aim is to find out if it is possible to use drugs to modify the consolidation of motor memories.

http://www.mercola.com/2002/aug/31/sleep.htm

[FuseU1]

Interest'g ... practic'g b4 u go 2 bed [I do this when I can] ... Hey, Pocket - this would seem to make sense, since you wouldn't be "filling up your mind w/ any thing else to distract it from what you'd just learned"/"piling-up on top of it," so to, speak] - you'd essentially be "sleeping on it" [what you'd just learned/practiced] ... kinda like the theory that younger children learn more quickly because most of them are not bogged down w/ the everyday responsibilities, worries, or headaches of "everyday adult life?" ....

[FuseU1]

perhaps this is a way of quietly reinforcing/"programming" it into your mind, like a "photogenic re-summarization," [or going back over it]...[OK, I don't wanna start soundin like a Carl Sagan obsessed, twisted-cosmonaut here [ooooWOOOOOOOoooooo....]

[beat Hit]

Makes lots of sense Pocket...

Taking long breaks from drums may also be a good thing too. If you can afford it of course!! When I stay away from playing for long periods of time, I am still rehearsing/singing rythms in my head. Then I go back to the kit then new ideas come forth!! We always keep on growing in maturity and we don't even realise it most of the time...

Ciao,

[beat Hit]

I just remembered something that I feel is also closely related to this topic.

At a drum clinic Omar Hakim had shared something real interesting.

When he got the Weather Report gig and went to Zawinul's house to rehearse, he was expecting all those long "Zappa-like" hours of rehearsal sessions. After the band played only a few bars, Zawinul stopped and said: "LUNCH TIME"!! To his surprise, they barely played all day!! Instead they just hung out and spent time playing basketball in the yard. Omar then said, "through it all, we were practicing. Feeding ourselves with the moment." Then the 1st WR gig came the Friday night of that same week and BAM!!! What a magical killing gig it was!!!

--> The Spontaneity was what they were aiming for and that's what they got. So yeah, practice, practice and practice but never forget to also CHILL, CHILL and CHILL from time-to-time too!!

Ciao,

[drum-guy]

I sleep every night. [img]eek.gif[/img]