9 surprising facts about the human brain


No one questions the complexity of the human brain, but often, the way it works continues to fascinate and surprise. Here is a list of 9 amazing facts about how your brain works:


1. The brain is better at creative work when you are tired.

There are people who work more and better in the morning, while others work better after midday. No matter what category you belong to, it's preferable to solve problems, answer questions or make decisions at when you are feeling your best, whether in the morning or in the afternoon. But if it's about doing something creative, the best moment is when you are tired and your mental acuity is not optimal. When tired, the brain is no longer able to focus on a particular thing, or to make connections between ideas and concepts, but it is open to new ideas and creates different patterns of thinking.


2. Stress changes the size of the brain.

It seems that stress affects the brain so much that it can even reduce its size. To test this, a study was conducted on rats exposed to chronic stress. It was found that the hippocampus in their brains has shrunk. After this experiment, scientists have wondered if stress leads to reduced brain size or if people with a smaller brain are more prone to stress. They have concluded that stress can be a factor contributing to brain modification.


3. The brain cannot do more things at one time.

Multitasking has always been encouraged and appreciated, but if we think better, it is virtually impossible to do more things at one time; What we do and what we call multitasking is an alternation of several activities over a certain period of time, but literally, we cannot do more at one time. The Brain Rules book explains how harmful multitasking can be to your brain; the error margin increases to over 50%, and the time used for multitasking is doubled. Multitasking assumes that we pay less attention to each and everything we do and we probably miss more. Multitasking exhausts the resources of the brain, because while we try to do activity A and activity B at the same time, our brain, which cannot do both of them once, passes from one to the other, wasting a lot of energy just for this change. A study in Paris showed that when the brain is called for two or more activities at a time, it shares its energy and resources between the two, so that the person concerned cannot achieve them at full capacity.


4. A quick nap is good for your brain.

 It is already known that sleep is very important for the brain, but it also appears that napping has a significant role. According to a study, napping daily improves memory. In a study, the participants were asked to memorize some illustrations, after which they had 40 minutes of pause, some of whom had a nap and others were awake. Afterwards, they were tested to see who had memorized the illustrations better and it was found that the ones who had slept in the break did a better job of remembering the pictures. The conclusion was that napping strengthens memory. Napping and sleeping well also helps in a faster assimilation of knowledge, which is why it is recommended for students to rest well during the exams period. According to a recent research, the right side of the brain is more active during a nap than the left side. Therefore, while the left side rests, the right side "cleanses" the temporary memories by sending the information to the storage side of the long-term memory and consolidating the information structure.


5. Vision surpasses all other senses.

It is said that a picture makes as much as a thousand words, which is true, because for the brain is easier to hold an image than something written. The brain sees writing as a series of small drawings, which, based on certain features, need to identify and then read, which takes longer than recording an image.


6. Introversion and extroversion come from different parts of the brain.

 If until now it was thought that introverted or extroverted people are so without any explanation, the researchers have discovered that there are differences between the brain of an extrovert and the brain of an introvert. There are differences between the dopamine levels, which in the case of the extroverts, encourages them to do new things, making them subject to risks, or enjoying unusual or surprising things. Also, the difference between extroverted and introverted people is how their brains respond to stimuli. In the case of extroverted individuals, stimuli pass through the area where the five senses are processed, while, in the case of introverted people, the stimuli go through areas associated with memory, planning and problem solving.


7. People who make mistakes are more accepted and more enjoyable by others.

This is due to the Pratfall Effect. A person who is never wrong or is rarely wrong is admired by others. The so-called perfection creates a distance and an air of invincibility that is not too appealing. This is why we do not like people who seem perfect.


8. Meditation has positive effects on the brain.

The more we meditate, the less we are subjected to anxiety. Also, meditation increases the level of creativity, improves memory, reduces stress, and even increases the amount of gray matter in the brain.


9. Exercise has a positive effect on the brain.

Physical exercise is not only beneficial to the body but also has a positive impact on the brain. During exercise, the body releases a protein called BDNF that protects and repairs memory neurons. At the same time, it also releases endorphin, which fights stress, blocks pain and is associated with euphoria.

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