Deliberate rewiring of your brain circuits to learn aka “directed neuroplasticity” involves these 3 stages & 7* steps. Stage 1: FRICTION Requirements* to trigger neuroplasticity 1) alertness 2) focus 3) earnest attempts to perform accurately (Note: Failed but earnest attempts are absolutely crucial; they mark the circuit elements that need to change…!) Stage 2: REFLECTION 4) thinking back on accurate & “error trials” from Stage 1 robustly increases learning 5) self testing (active recall, summarizing & visualization of desired vs actual performance, etc.) accelerates plasticity Stage 3: ACTUAL CIRCUIT REWIRING 6) sleep, especially Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep the 1st night after Stage 1 occurs is when much of actual circuit remodeling in the brain/spinal cord occurs. 7) Naps (10-30min), Non Sleep Deep Rest (NSDR) & ~15-30min meditation have all been shown to improve learning depth and rate but these do not replace sleep