Athletes have long used mental imagery to complement physical practice, and research indicates that going through the motions only in your head can enhance performance just as well as—and sometimes better than—actually working up a sweat.
In one study at Texas A and M, medical students learning venipuncture received 30 minutes of guided physical practice followed by either 30 more minutes of practice, 30 minutes of guided mental imagery, or no more training. When tested, the first two groups performed better than the third, and just as well as each other. The same effect was seen in students learning to suture.
I wonder how this translates to programming? I mean, it’s all mental already right? The physical acts of reading the screen, and typing words don’t really contribute to the process much… it’s just I/O :)
Of course there would probably be benefits in learning how to hold more information in your mind at once…