Yourhealth Could climbing trees help boost your brain power?
IT WAS nearly 40 years since I last shinned up a tree and to be honest it was not something I expected to do again. But this summer I found myself donning a safety helmet and harness and preparing to scale a 70ft mature oak using only ropes and my own strength.
For grown- ups, tree climbing is not only a chance to relive childhood adventures while fl exing some underused muscles, it can give your brain a big boost too.
Research published by academics at the University of North Florida in July revealed that pastimes such as tree climbing can benefi t our “working memory”. This is the part of our memory we rely on to follow instructions or directions and to remember phone numbers or the items on a shopping list.
The researchers discovered that when you climb a tree, your brain is constantly calculating and evaluating your spatial awareness, balance and orientation, giving your brain a vigorous workout.
It means that your brain is extremely alert after this type of activity, which helps when you then tackle mental tasks.
The study involved 72 men and women aged between 18 and 59 who were put through a series of working memory tests. Half did tree climbing and other activities such as balancing on a beam and barefoot running while the others listened to a lecture or did a yoga class.
According to the fi ndings in the Perceptual And Motor Skills Journal, those who did the climbing scored 50 per cent better than the yoga group when they were later asked to memorise lists of numbers in reverse order.
Ross Alloway, one of the study’s authors, says: “This research suggests that by doing activities that make us think, we can exercise our brains as well as our bodies.
“By taking a break to do activities that are unpredictable and require us to consciously adapt our movements, we can boost our working memory to perform better in the classroom and the boardroom.”
With this fi rmly in mind, my wife Judy and I, along with our sons Kit, 10, and Rory, eight, decided to see what tree climbing could do for us.
We headed to Ryde on the Isle of Wight where Paul McCathie, an experienced tree surgeon, runs tree climbing business Goodleaf with his wife Abi. The company organises climbs in a 300- year- old oak in the town’s Appley Park, just yards from the sea. Here anyone over the age of eight can learn to climb safely.
Before we started we were asked to list any fears we had about tree climbing. Everything from branches giving way to suffering vertigo was calmly talked through by Paul who allayed all our concerns.
Think the rope’s going to snap, for instance? Don’t worry. Each one could bear the weight of a rhinoceros.
Paul explained we would be secured to the rope via a carabiner, a metal loop attached to a waist harness. To go higher, you put your