15 Cool Facts about the Brain You didn’t Know

The brain is a 3-pound mystery, and the study of it is one of the least explored areas in science. In fact, most of what we currently know about the brain we’ve only learned in the past 15 years or so. And even then we only know so much. Most scientists and health experts agree, there is more we don’t know than we do know!

Having said, there are plenty of facts about the human brain that have not reached the public yet, so I thought I’d share some of those with you today.

Are you ready to get to know your brain a little better? Let’s start with some basics first:

1. Your Brain is an Energy Hog

As I mentioned, the human brain weighs about 3 pounds. That means it compromises only 2% of your body’s total weight. But get this – it uses 20% of your body’s total energy and oxygen intake.

2. Your Brain Requires Hydration

Every cell in our body obviously requires hydration, but again, your brain has some special needs. Since your brain is 73% water – it takes only 2% dehydration to negatively impact your ability to focus and remember things.

3. Your Brain is Chubby

As well as being made of a lot of water, 60% of the dry weight of your brain is actually fat. That’s right, your brain is more than half fat (making it the fattiest organ in your body), which is why it is so important to eat good healthy fats!

4. Your Brain Also Requires Cholesterol

The myth that nutritional cholesterol raises your cholesterol has finally been put to bed. Cholesterol is an integral part of every single cell in your body, and 26% of your body’s cholesterol resides in the brain. The moral of this fact: Eat more cholesterol rich foods like meat and eggs!!!

5. Your Brain Has a Lot of Cells – A Whole Lot of Cells

Go ahead and guess how many cells your brain has. Go on, I’ll wait………

Wong!

Your brain has 86 BILLION brain cells – give or take. And all of these cells are different. Experts estimate there could be as many as types of brain cells or neurons.

6. The Brain Takes A While to Mature

None of us should really be driving cars or using sharp objects until we’re 25, as that is the age the brain finally matures.

7. Your Brain is Powerful

Literally. The average human brain can generate about 12-25 watts of electricity. This is enough to power a low-wattage LED light. Talk about saving on your electricity bill!

Now let’s move on to some health facts about the brain. Spoiler alert – some of these facts are disturbing:

8. Your Emotions Can Shrink Your Brain

A team of researchers from Yale found that chronic stress and depression can cause measurable brain shrinkage.

9. Low-Fat Diets are bad for the Brain

I already mentioned that your brain is 60% fat and that it requires fat to work optimally. When your brain cells do not get enough fat from your diet, they are forced to cannibalize themselves in an effort to avoid starvation. So, forget about low-fat diets, they do far more harm than good!

10. We’re Not getting Any Smarter

Well, many of us have assumed it but now it is official: since the Victorian era, the average human IQ has gone down 1.6 points per decade for a total of 13.35 points.

11. Multitasking is a Myth

Multitasking is a skill that is prized in our modern society. But the truth is, it’s impossible. The brain cannot actually focus on two things at once. It CAN toggle back and forth between tasks, but this is really, really bad for your brain and will cause you to eventually lose your attention span, ability to learn, and short-term memory.

12. Cell Phones Damage the Brain

There are over 140 proteins in the brain that are negatively impacted by exposure to electromagnetic frequencies, the kind that are emitted by your cell phone and other electronic devices.

And now let’s close by looking at some facts about your brain and memory:

13. Memory is a Skill

We tend to think that people who have exceptional memories were born that way, but that’s usually not how it works. Most people with outstanding memory developed it. If you want a better memory, you can have it by practicing memory techniques.

14. Your Brain VS the World Wide Web

The latest scientific research shows that the brain’s memory capacity is a quadrillion bytes. That is the same amount needed to store the ENTIRE INTERNET!!

15. Memory Loss is Avoidable

We associate memory loss with aging. Most of us think when we reach a certain age, it’s normal to start becoming forgetful. But that is a complete myth. You can stay sharp by using your brain more. Find activities that interest you, read more, take a class, stimulate your mind so it will keep working.

When you look at these 15 brain facts you probably didn’t know, you see just how amazing our brains are. And this is the tip of the iceberg! We will no doubt be learning even more mind-blowing facts in the near future.

I will leave you with one final fact: Did you know Alzheimer’s is actually reversible?

That’s right. It does NOT have to be a death sentence. Pick up a copy of The Unbreakable Brain and find out how one doctor is helping his patients completely reverse their Alzheimer’s disease – Click Here.