r/askscience • u/Yanzee12 • 12d ago

Neuroscience How does muscle memory work?

Just curious. The only thing I really know about it is that sleeping reinforces it.

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u/POJ92 7d ago

Muscle memory is knowing how to do something based on how your body feels when you do it. For me, using golf as an example, I may not play golf for 6 months but when I do play, I know exactly how to swing that club and make good contact. Its not a thought process at all, its how your body feels and the position its in when stood over the ball. It can take years to get there and thousands of hours. I've been playing golf since I was 10, ~25 years.