Trying something new—taking up the piano or recorder, learning French or Spanish, becoming a ballroom dancer—encourages neuroplasticity, the ability of the brain to modify itself through activities, says Amy J. Bastian, PhD, a neuroscientist at the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore.
The same is true for juggling. When people—young or old—learn to juggle, their brains change, research shows. One such study, published in 2004 in Nature, reported that gray matter in a part of the hippocampus that's associated with complex visual processing became denser. Another study, published in Nature Neuroscience in 2009, reported changes in the brain's white matter in areas associated with reaching and grasping in the periphery of vision—regardless of skill level.
These structural changes in the brain after juggling also may improve cognitive function, according to researchers in a 2022 review of 11 studies on juggling and the brain, published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.
In all the studies, the observed signs of neuroplasticity tended to fade with time after the subjects gave up juggling. In one three-month study, about half the brain changes disappeared one month after the participants stopped practicing. In addition, it's not clear if there are any practical benefits related to the brain changes, such as improved memory or better processing.
Studying juggling and how it pertains to areas of the brain that control movement may shed light on cerebellar ataxia, a neurologic disorder caused by damage to the cerebellum either through trauma, disease such as multiple sclerosis, or a specific kind of stroke. “The cerebellum predicts how one part of the body will disrupt the rest of the body so its actions can be counteracted,” explains Dr. Bastian. “For example, if you raised your arm quickly but didn't activate your core muscles, you'd fall over. We think the cerebellum is learning and tuning these predictions that allow you to coordinate different parts of the body seamlessly with one another.”
People with cerebellar damage have trouble coordinating movement, Dr. Bastian says. “They move up and down or side to side, overreach targets, and have to make multiple corrections. They have difficulty maintaining posture and balance.” To others, people with ataxia may appear drunk if they stagger or stumble, she says.
Dr. Bastian is working with Noah Cowan, PhD, director of the Locomotion in Mechanical and Biological Systems laboratory at Johns Hopkins University and a longtime juggler, who co-developed a virtual reality system to study the function of the cerebellum in healthy subjects and those with cerebellar ataxia. In a study by Dr. Bastian, Dr. Cowan, and other researchers published in eLife in 2020, participants were instructed to keep a cursor in the center of a target as they attempted to complete screen tasks. By sending imperceptible signals to jostle participants' cursors—such as a milliseconds-long delay—researchers measured how well subjects corrected for the mistakes. The results suggest that people with cerebellar ataxia are good at using the brain's feedback mechanism, which is controlled by the cerebellum—but their timing is impaired.
The researchers have used similar virtual reality systems to study virtual juggling in healthy subjects. Juggling, explains Dr. Cowan, engages many of the same systems needed to control normal movement, including, for example, walking without stumbling. Dr. Bastian believes juggling may have the potential to help people with movement disorders such as cerebellar ataxia, although she emphasizes that this is currently hypothetical. “Juggling changes how quickly you react to objects, how well you coordinate between two hands, and how you keep your posture under control. It also improves hand-eye coordination,” she says. “It's good for people who want to improve the precision and timing of their movements.” No studies have looked at juggling that way, she says, but “it does test our systems in a way that might be potentially therapeutic.”
And juggling, because it requires moving limbs quickly and adjusting balance, may boost balance in general, says George F. Wittenberg, MD, PhD, professor of neurology at the University of Pittsburgh. It also might help people rehabilitating from certain neurologic conditions, says Pablo Celnik, MD, CEO of the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab in Baltimore. “Improving postural control can translate to important skills like basic walking abilities,” he says.
Nor is juggling as hard to learn as it looks, says Janet Brodie, an arts therapist who works at Yale New Haven Psychiatric Hospital in Connecticut. She teaches juggling to her patients, who are moderately to severely affected in daily functioning due to mental illness. “It's a good tool to get people involved in an activity and to help them become aware of their coping mechanisms,” she says. “Nearly everyone can learn to juggle two balls, and many can learn three.”
A study in Healthcare in 2022 corroborates Brodie's experiences with her patients. In a group of 20 healthy volunteers (the average age was 70) who took 12 lessons over a month, everyone learned to juggle at least three balls. (The experience also boosted moods, reducing depressive symptoms, according to one measure.)
Almost anyone can learn to juggle, says Heather Wolf, who mastered the art in the 1990s. She now teaches classes in New York City. “My dream is to get everyone in the world juggling. My students are so excited when they figure it out.” Once her students master the basics, she encourages them to try new tricks and techniques. And there's an added bonus, she says. “While you're exercising, you're also growing your brain.”
Learn How to Juggle
Most people start with scarves, then move on to one ball, two balls, and then three balls. More ambitious jugglers may graduate to rings or bowling pins or learn new routines. “Once jugglers can do a trick or a pattern, they want to try something new,” says Taylor Glenn, a juggling teacher in Salt Lake City. In addition to free videos online, in-person and online classes, and juggling clubs, these tips can help.
Get the right equipment.
Good juggling balls weigh four or five ounces each, says Heather Wolf, a teacher in New York City. “Tennis balls are too light, and golf balls are too small,” says Noah Cowan, PhD, a researcher at Johns Hopkins University who also teaches juggling. “Don't crumple up paper or use potatoes,” adds Glenn.
Check out YouTube.
Glenn's YouTube channel, which has 75,000 subscribers, offers a variety of free tutorials. She also has free instructional videos on her website.
Consider taking a class.
Learning via YouTube can be fine, says Wolf, but if you develop bad habits or posture, there's no one to correct that. Look online for in-person and virtual classes. Wolf and Glenn both offer sessions at JuggleFit.com and JugglersGuide.com, respectively.
Take your time.
Most lessons start with one ball. “Spend more time than you might think you need with just one ball, tossing it back and forth with your feet apart in the right posture,” suggests Dr. Cowan. In his own classes, he often spends 30 minutes on one ball before moving on to two balls and, eventually, three. “Be patient and get the mechanics right.”
Watch yourself.
Stand in front of a mirror or record yourself on your phone. On review, you may see that your arms keep creeping up as you catch, which makes it harder to sustain a juggle. Good jugglers keep their elbows by their hips and let the balls come to them.
Enjoy the drops.
Everyone drops balls. In fact, one exercise is to learn how to toss balls from one hand to the other—and let them drop. “I drop more in a day than most people drop in a year,” says Glenn. “Dropping is how you learn to juggle.”
Practice often but briefly.
“Five to 20 minutes every day is fine,” says Wolf. The most important thing is to practice at least once a day, she adds.
To find a juggling club in your area, visit Juggling.org. You may be able to find a juggling class through local clubs as well. To learn more about the history of juggling, visit the Museum of Juggling History.
