We all take our brains for granted. They just exist and keep us functioning, but we don’t give them much thought, even though our brains are our thought centers. What fascinates me so much about the human brain is that, despite all of our advanced knowledge and technology, scientists still don’t know that much about it. Here are some intriguing facts to help you better understand your brain.
The Brain Consumes 20% of the Body’s Oxygen and Blood
The brain requires continuous oxygen. Without it for just five minutes, brain cells start to die, causing severe damage. Thinking hard increases the brain’s oxygen and fuel consumption from your blood by up to 50%.
Reading Aloud Uses Different Brain Circuits
Reading out loud helps brain development. Children learn to read by speaking words before reading silently. Reading and talking aloud in front of children promotes their brain development.
Short Term Memory Lasts About 20-30 Seconds
Your brain can hold small amounts of information for about half a minute. Most people can remember numbers for 7 seconds and letters for 9 seconds, with a capacity of 7 digits in working memory. This explains the typical length of phone numbers.
Visual Processing Happens in the Back of the Brain
The occipital lobe, responsible for vision, is located at the back of the brain. Getting hit there can cause you to see stars. The left brain controls right-side vision, and vice versa. Sound is also processed on the opposite sides of the head.
The Adult Brain Weighs About 3 Pounds
The cerebrum makes up 85% of the brain’s weight, contributing to about 2% of a person’s total body weight. Its texture is like firm jelly. The heaviest human brain on record belonged to Russian writer Ivan Turgenev, weighing 4.43 pounds. The smallest was 2.41 pounds, found in a woman.
Sleep is Essential
Proper sleep is vital for brain function. Lack of sleep impairs judgment, memory, and reaction time, and can kill brain cells. Sleep helps consolidate memories from the day. Yawning cools the brain, and sleep deprivation increases brain temperature. If you have sleep issues, consider consulting a sleep center.
The Brain Contains Around 100 Billion Neurons
Comparable to the number of stars in the Milky Way, these neurons are connected by trillions of synapses, creating a “neuron forest.” Information moves through these neurons at speeds up to 250 mph, though they only make up 10% of the brain.
The Brain Itself Can’t Feel Pain
Though the brain lacks pain receptors, the coverings and scalp around it do have them. This means brain surgery can be performed without causing the brain pain.
Chemical Reactions Cause Headaches
Headaches stem from chemical activity in the brain, surrounding nerves, blood vessels, or muscles. Serotonin and estrogen level changes can trigger headaches or migraines, with serotonin affecting both sexes and estrogen mainly affecting women.
The Brain Triples in Size During the First Year
By age two, a child’s brain is 80% of its adult size and continues to grow until about 18 years old. Full maturity is reached around age 25. Relative to body size, the human brain is the largest among all vertebrates.
Cholesterol is Crucial for Learning and Memory
The brain contains 25% of the body’s cholesterol, essential for its function. Unlike other organs, the brain produces its own cholesterol, which is vital for memory and learning processes.
Exercise Benefits the Brain
Aerobic exercise increases heart rate and blood flow to the brain, promoting neuron production and enhancing memory and thinking. It also boosts neurotransmitters like serotonin and norepinephrine, improving mood and information processing.
True Multitasking is a Myth
What we call multitasking is actually just rapidly switching between tasks. According to the book Brain Rules, this “multitasking” increases errors by 50% and takes twice as long.
Dreams Involve Various Factors
Dreams combine imagination, physiology, and neurology. The limbic system, particularly the amygdala, is active during dreams, showing the brain’s continued work during sleep. People average 4-7 dreams per night.
The Brain Shrinks With Age
The brain continues to develop until the late 40s, but begins to shrink around mid-life. However, brain size doesn’t correlate with intelligence. There’s no proof that a larger brain means a smarter person.
Humans Use More Than 10% of Their Brains
The idea that we only use 10% of our brains is a myth. Brain imaging shows that much of the brain is active throughout the day, even during sleep.
The Brain Generates Random Thoughts
The National Science Foundation reports that people have 12,000 to 60,000 thoughts daily, with 95% being repetitive and 80% negative. Your brain constantly processes and generates thoughts.
Unlimited Storage Capacity
Your brain’s storage capacity is almost unlimited, with about 86 billion neurons forming up to 1 quadrillion connections. Alzheimer’s disease can damage neurons, particularly affecting memory.
Communication Superhighway
Brain information travels up to 268 miles per hour. Electrical impulses travel from cell to cell, and any disruption can cause an epileptic seizure.
Your Spinal Cord is the Primary Communicator
The spinal cord stops growing at age four but remains the main communication source between the body and brain. Diseases like ALS and multiple sclerosis affect the spinal cord and brain, impacting muscle control and nerve function.
Brain Freeze
Brain freeze, also known as sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia, happens when something cold chills the blood vessels in the throat, causing them to constrict and then rapidly expand. This results in pain in the forehead, signaling you to stop consuming the cold item.
Your Brain is Electric
The human brain can generate about 23 watts of power, enough to light a bulb. This electricity is produced when the brain is awake, as it consumes glucose to generate energy. Information travels from your arms and legs to the brain at speeds of 150-260 mph. Adequate sleep is essential to maintain brain pathways, while sleep deprivation increases Alzheimer’s-linked protein build-up.
Brain Tissue is Amazing
A grain of brain tissue contains 100,000 neurons and 1 billion synapses. Damage, such as from a stroke or Parkinson’s disease, can kill neurons and affect abilities in the affected brain area.
Katy Willis is a writer, master herbalist, master gardener, and certified canine nutritionist who has been writing since 2002. She’s finds joy in learning new and interesting things, and finds history, science, and nature endlessly fascinating.
