The word edifice comes from a Latin word referring to a building. Edify comes from the same root word, which generally means to build up or construct. We often use edifying to describe something that helps us improve intellectually, morally or spiritually, but there is something worth considering in the more literal meaning of the word.

We are, quite literally, building ourselves through what we do. The reverse is also true. There are parts of us that break down, atrophy and wither away when we don't do things.

Our bodies are constantly responding to the demands we place on them. When we lift weights, the mechanical stress forces our muscles and bones to adapt. Bone is living tissue, continually being broken down and rebuilt. Jumping up and down causes the body to respond by building stronger bones. Muscles do the same thing. Challenge it and it strengthens. Stop using it and it atrophies.

Paving the Neural Highways

The same goes for the brain. Neuroplasticity is the brain's ability to change in response to experience and activity. When we repeatedly use certain neural pathways, those pathways change from gravel roads to paved highways, creating efficiency and automaticity. This is how we learn to ride a bike, speak another language, play the piano or shoot a basketball. What initially requires a lot of concentration becomes easier because the brain has functionally adapted by building the necessary infrastructure.

It's all "use it or lose it," which should give us pause in deciding how we spend our time.

Consider spending an hour watching YouTube videos compared with spending that same hour learning Spanish or practicing the piano. All three involve the brain. YouTube certainly isn't all bad. I have learned plenty from watching TED Talks. But the types of demands being placed on the brain will lead to different structures and pathways getting built. Given a choice between cat video infrastructure or ¿Dónde está el baño? infrastructure, which do we think will serve us better over the course of our lifetime?

The take home message is that every activity we choose to undertake is either building something or breaking something down.

This is especially important for children because their brains and bodies are developing rapidly. When a child climbs a tree, builds with blocks, draws a picture, plays an instrument, throws a ball, or invents a game with other children, there is a lot happening neurologically. If they are sitting watching a screen, different things are happening . . . or not happening.

What Are We Building?

The conversation isn’t just about screens versus no screens. A child using a screen to learn to compose music, research something or talk with a grandparent is having a very different experience than a child scrolling through mindless entertainment for hours. The more useful question to explore is which demand does the activity place on the brain and body and what likely adaptations will arise from that exposure?

Are we seeking experiences that are edifying for children in the most literal sense of the word? Not every minute needs to be educational or productive. But the majority of time should be spent on constructive activities if we want to ensure kids have the brain architecture they need for the complex tasks life will demand of them. 

Movement, music, reading, conversation, art, creativity, relationships, problem solving, exploration and play all provide the raw materials for building neural architecture. Speaking of raw materials, the food we eat provides the 3-D filament for that new infrastructure. The protein, fat and other nutrients we take in are the building blocks of bone, muscle, and neural networks that get built based on what we do.

We literally are what we eat. And, what we do repeatedly becomes, in some very real ways, who we become.

What will you do to edify your one precious body and brain?