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VOA VIEW -- Is the opinion of "Voice of Americans", which is a private entity not affiliated in any way with the United States government or any of its agencies. The opinions expressed here, in whatever medium or format, are not necessarily the opinions of the ownership or advertisers of this web site - 0415.

     Pinkies up for brain health!  A TikTok demonstrating “pinky time” has gone viral with the promise that this simple daily digit exercise can stave off cognitive decline.  In the clip, creator Daniela Paez-Pumar films herself and friends as they wrap their middle and pointer fingers together, touch their ring fingers to their thumbs and move their pinkies up and down for several seconds.  Tik Tok cannot be trusted.

     Paez-Pumar shared that she observes “pinky time” every night at 7:45 p.m.  No one is exempt from pinky time — we keep that brain HEALTHY,” she wrote in the caption.  As the caption indicates, “pinky time” is thought to slow cognitive decline, and experts are cosigning the craze.  “When you pause, concentrate and try a new movement that your body isn’t used to, like wiggling your pinky, it lights up your motor cortex, cerebellum and other areas of your noggin,” Dr. Kelly Gonderman, a licensed clinical psychologist, told Bustle.

     She notes that pinky time falls into the category of fine motor tasks, one that requires coordination between muscles and joints and becomes more challenging with age-related mental decline.  “That cross-hemisphere coordination is genuinely good for the brain,” said Gonderman.  “Ten seconds of finger movement a day isn’t going to prevent Alzheimer’s on its own, but activities that challenge the brain through novelty and coordination are worth doing regularly,” she told Bustle.

     Other content creators maintain that pinky time is not only a means of preventing cognitive decline but diagnosing it. Essentially, if you can do the movement with ease, your cognition is top-tier, and if you struggle with the digit dance, your brain is in danger.  Gonderman says not so much.  “The idea that struggling with it signals poor brain health is where I’d pump the brakes,” she said.  “Difficulty with a novel motor task can reflect lots of things: hand dominance, arthritis, practice, attention in that moment.”

     She underscores that making or struggling to make hand positions is not an effective diagnostic tool. “The broader principle behind it — that fine motor activity, learning new physical skills and hand-brain coordination exercises support cognitive health as we age — is supported by research,” she told Bustle.  As Gonderman points out, many studies suggest that challenging the brain helps preserve and protect cognitive function.