Your brain is the command center of your body. It’s crucial for thinking, moving, breathing, and other vital functions that keep you alive.
The average human brain weighs about three pounds (1,300 grams) but it uses 20 percent of the calories you consume and 20 percent of the oxygen in your blood.
Below are some incredible brain facts that are mind-blowing.
The facts about the human brain
- The human brain is the most complex organ in the body. It has 100 billion neurons (nerve cells) and each neuron can connect to 10,000 other neurons. This creates a staggering 1,000 trillion possible neural connections.
- Your brain processes information at lightning speeds. It can take in visuals, sounds and smells simultaneously and it can analyze and respond to complex situations in a fraction of a second.
- Your brain is constantly changing. It’s constantly growing new neurons and synapses (connections between neurons) throughout your life. This ability to change and grow is called neuroplasticity.
- The human brain is the only organ that can heal itself. If you suffer a traumatic brain injury, there’s a good chance you will recover some function.
- Your brain controls everything you do. It’s responsible for your thoughts, feelings, movements and sensations.
- The human brain is the largest consumer of glucose (sugar) in the body. It consumes about 120 grams of glucose per day.
- The human brain is the fattiest organ in the body. It is 60 percent fat and contains about 60,000 miles of blood vessels (capillaries).
- Your brain has an amazing capacity for generating new neurons throughout your life. Scientists recently found that thousands of new cells are created every day in the hippocampus (part of the brain responsible for cognition and memory).
- The human brain is the only organ that can operate on its own. You can survive without a heart or a liver, but you will die without a brain.
Now that you know some incredible brain facts, you can see just how amazing and complex this organ really is!
What capabilities does the human brain have?
Since the day when people are able to think, they wonder how is it possible that brains can do so many things.
For example, when you learn something new your brain changes in order to memorize this information.
This is called neuroplasticity which means that our neurons create new connections with each other when we are learning.
In addition, when you get new knowledge it stays with you.
That’s why people get good results at school or university even if they don’t attend classes for a long time.
You can also exercise your brain by playing different games and puzzles which allow you to develop your mind and make your memory better.
Another way of developing your brain is by reading and learning new things.
There are many brain facts that still remain unknown to us and scientists continue working on them in order to understand everything about this organ.
For example, neuroscientists found out that the human brain can generate new cells even when we are adults.
This ability is called neurogenesis and it means that our brains are able to change and grow during our entire life.
Moreover, the human brain is able to keep memories for a very long time.
It’s known that some people can remember almost everything that happened to them in their lives while others have a harder time recalling certain events.
However, scientists still don’t know why some memories fade away with time while others remain unchanged.
The bottom line is that our brain is very special and we still don’t know everything about it.
What does the human brain do?
Nowadays, the number of people who want to become neuroscientists or just learn more about how brains work increases.
Moreover, there are a lot of students who choose neuroscience as their major even if they have no idea what can they do with it.
One thing is sure – people who work in this sphere help us understand how our brain works and why we behave as we do.
Everything that happens on the earth affects our brains and these scientists want to discover more about these changes and find ways to minimize them if possible.
It’s interesting to know that some scientists are working on figuring out differences between male and female brains.
And the first results show that there are several noticeable differences between them.
For example, women have larger prefrontal cortexes which means they have more ability to multitask than men who have more gray matter in their hippocampi.
Moreover, scientists say that men’s brains age faster than women’s do.
This may be why more men suffer from disorders like Alzheimer’s disease.
However, these are just some results and scientists continue working on them in order to find new brain facts about differences between genders.
Another reason why you should want to know more about neuroscience is that this science can help you understand yourself better.
Moreover, it can help you change some of your habits or behaviors which are not very good for you.
What should you do to improve your brain?
There are lots of things that you can do in order to keep your brain active and healthy.
- It’s necessary to learn new things on a regular basis. When we get the knowledge we develop our minds and this leads to better self-confidence and improved intellectual abilities.
- It’s important not only to receive the knowledge but also to share it with other people. When you explain what you’ve learned, your brain sends signals to other parts of your body and generates new chemical responses. This creates new neural connections which help you memorize facts better.
- You can also challenge yourself by reading books or solving puzzles every day in order to develop your mind even more.
- Physical activity is also necessary for a healthy brain. When you exercise, your body releases endorphins which have a positive effect on your mood and cognitive abilities.
So, these are some things that you can do in order to improve your brain health. Just make sure that you don’t overload it and give yourself some time to rest as well.
It’s also important to be positive and have a good mood because our emotions have a significant impact on the way our brains work.
Scientists found out that people who are happy and optimistic have better cognitive abilities and they are less likely to experience age-related memory loss.
So, if you want to keep your brain healthy and functioning at its best, make sure that you do all of these things!
- See also: Is it true that humans only utilize 10% of their brain capacity?
- See also: What is the connection between music and the brain
Conclusion
To conclude, our brain is very complex and scientists still don’t know everything about it.
However, we do know that the number of people who want to become neuroscientists or just learn more about how brains to work increases every year. Moreover, there are a lot of students who choose neuroscience as their major even if they have no idea what can they do with it.
It’s interesting to know that some scientists are working on figuring out differences between male and female brains. And the first results show that there are several noticeable differences between them. For example, women have larger prefrontal cortexes which means they have more ability to multitask than men who have more gray matter in their hippocampi.
Moreover, scientists say that men’s brains age faster than women’s do. This may be why more men suffer from disorders like Alzheimer’s disease. However, these are just some results and scientists continue working on them in order to find new brain facts about differences between genders.
Another reason why you should want to know more about neuroscience is that this science can help you understand yourself better. Moreover, it can help you change some of your habits or behaviors which are not very good for you.