Neuroscience says you can alter your brain structure to improve cognition. Here’s how—it’s already a popular hobby

Neuroscientists have found birding is actually a brain hack. A new study published in JNeurosci, the Journal of Neuroscience found birdwatching may actually alter the structure and function of your brain—what is known as neuroplasticity—effectively helping to boost cognitive abilities, especially in more seasoned bird watchers.

“Our brains are very malleable,” lead researcher Erik Wing, a research associate at York University in Toronto, explained.

Wait, what exactly is neuroplasticity?

Neuroplasticity is basically the process or way your brain learns, creates memory, and adapts to experiences and trauma, according to Psychology Today.

Research shows that while the brain changes and develops the most in childhood, it continues to do so throughout your life.

Today, neuroscientists see the brain as a dynamic and flexible organ, one that can “reorganize connections” through “wiring” and “rewiring.”

How bird watching helps your brain

The new study of 58 adults compared the brains of 29 expert birders (ages 24 to 75), and 29 beginners around the same age. It found something interesting: The MRIs of the expert birders’ brains had more density when it came to areas governing perception and attention, than those of the novices.

Again, they didn’t divide the two groups based on a person’s age—but based on their birding knowledge and expertise.

Birding, which involves deep concentration and the ability to identify different birds, alters brain activity and structure in the same way becoming an expert musician or athlete does. That’s because they all require extensive brain training.

So, what did the study conclude? In short, it found the process of becoming an expert birder boosted brain cognition. And while it doesn’t stop brain aging, it does suggest that it could help minimize age-related declines in the future.