If you’re just too skittish a parent to let your child climb trees, it’s official: you need to let go.
The science is in on tree-climbing, and apparently, it is one of the simplest ways to boost your working memory’s capability.
According to a CBSNews.com article, the study (originally published in the scholarly journal Perceptual and Motor Skill) was conducted by the University of Florida, whose “researchers evaluated participants between the ages of 18 and 59 while testing their working memory before and after the completion of various dynamic activities. Activities included climbing a tree, walking on narrow beams, running barefoot, and navigating obstacle courses.”
They found that those who engaged in such activities experienced a full 50 percent leap in their working memory. Better still, “it doesn’t take much time to reap the benefits, as just a few minutes of such activity can produce beneficial effects on working memory.”
The report did not specify whether wives and mothers aware of the study are more excited about the prospect of their children performing better in school or their husbands remembering what their wives just told them.
But they can all rest assured: as great American poet Robert Frost told us long ago, “One could do worse than be a swinger of birches.”
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