Crawling is a typical step in development for babies, but did you know that crawling heals your brain as well? Not only is it beneficial for physical development, but it’s also vital for mental and emotional development.
Something even crazier is that crawling is not only an exercise for kids. As an adult, you can figure out your crawling pattern and create a new one to develop your brain properly. How wild is that?!
It might sound odd to hear that crawling heals your brain, but don’t write it off just yet. There’s loads of research to prove how this seemingly small step in development may affect your everyday life.
Bilateral Stimulation
To understand how crawling works to heal the human brain, you first have to learn about bilateral stimulation. This is just a fancy phrase for the act of using both sides of your body.Â
Bilateral stimulation is a vital part of certain therapies because of the wonders it does for the brain. By using both sides of your body, you’re also stimulating both hemispheres of your brain.Â
Through bilateral stimulation, you work to bridge the gap between the logical and the emotional sides of your brain. This bridge between the two hemispheres, called the corpus callosum, is how your brain works to process trauma.Â
Through rapid eye movement, or REM sleep, your brain processes the events of your day while you dream. Your eyes move band and forth when you sleep, processing events by passing them between logic and emotion. Your mind works while you sleep to find equilibrium and healing for you.
This is where crawling comes in…
There are loads of benefits to crawling. Motor skills, postural control, core strength, better reflexes, visual function, and stronger muscles are all enhanced by proper crawling. However, the most important is the way the brain develops from this kind of bilateral stimulation.
Crawling is a child’s first form of full-body bilateral stimulation. This vital step in development helps the child find equilibrium between their emotions and reasoning.
If a child doesn’t spend enough time developing proper crawling skills, they can suffer from several issues throughout their life. Anxiety, depression, emotional regulation, and sensory processing issues can be from not crawling enough as a baby. In severe cases, ADHD can occur because of the midbrain’s role in dopamine production.Â
You can heal your brain!
It sounds scary that something as small as not crawling enough can affect your entire life, but don’t worry! You can start working now to develop those areas of your brain.
In The Cortex and Your Therapy Source have incredible videos, articles, and additional information on how crawling heals your brain. There are loads of videos and resources on how to detect improper crawling as well as how to work on it. It might feel a little strange to crawl around on the floor, but your brain will thank you!
Get moving!
There’s much more you can do than crawl, although crawling is a fantastic baseline for understanding your progress in mental development. Any action that uses both sides of your body will heal your mind and fix development delays through bilateral stimulation!
Dancing, exercising, playing an instrument, or even going on a walk can all rework your brain at different rates. Focus on movement that uses the opposite arm and leg simultaneously so you can optimize both hemispheres of your brain. Â
You’ll feel more confident, less anxious, and much more focused after working on healing your midbrain. It’s never too late to start healing your brain.
