Amazing Brain Facts
The brain has the potential to remember hundreds of times more information than we could possibly learn in one lifetime. It is capable of monitoring thousands of bits of information every second almost all of which we are unconscious of at the time. As an example of this in action I will ask you a question: What does the chair you are sitting on feel like? Your brain has been constantly monitoring the feeling, but has been keeping it at the unconscious level because you did not need to be aware of it... until I mentioned it., then it sent all those sensations up into your conscious mind.
The brain consists of around one hundred billion brain cells. Each brain cell can communicate with roughly one hundred thousand others. Therefore the number of possible connections is... rather large. Staggeringly large, actually. If you were to write the number out the number would be ten and a half million kilometers long! That's a big number. These connections are both chemical and electrical and travel at about one hundred and seventy miles per hour! Each time you have a new thought or memory, a new brain connection is made between two or more brain cells.
The brain is 80% water. This might explain why it is good to stay hydrated during exams and when you are revising. It only accounts for 2% of your body-weight, yet requires 25% of all the oxygen that the body breathes in. Sometimes a few deep breaths will refresh your brain enough to help jog a memory.
Delivering oxygen and glucose to the brain is via of blood vessels - lots of them. If you stretched them out they would be four hundred miles long!
The brain needs electricity to work properly and generates up to 25 watts of power while you're awake - enough to illuminate a light bulb.This energy comes from the food we eat. Could this explain why everyone recommends a good breakfast every morning? You betcha! We have devised ways of measuring this electrical activity using an electroencephalogram, or EEG machine. The tiny fluctuations in electrical activity detected with EEG are clear indicators of whether a person is asleep, aroused, or somewhere in between.
Electrical activity in the brain resonates at different frequencies depending on the state of the person. There are four basic brainwave states ranging from the fastest: 'Beta' through 'Alpha' and 'Theta', to the slowest: 'Delta'. Beta is wide awake and Delta is fast asleep. Hypnosis and daydreaming both occupy the 'Theta' band of brainwave patterns.
Here's a depressing fact: we lose about eighty five thousand brain neurons every day. But don't be too disheartened, we also have the ability to grow new ones, but only when we stimulate the brain. Think of that when you are studying next time!
Neuro scientists can only scratch the surface when it comes to understanding the full workings of the brain - there is still loads to discover. Its true that the more we learn, the more we can help ourselves in so many ways.
The Derren Brown stuff...
Derren Brown is a British performer, magician, illusionist who uses hypnosis and NLP skills to produce some amazing effects... More…
Interesting Stuff:
Only £12.99. Powerful mind-program using hypnosis and NLP helps you focus and concentrate on revision. Banish exam-nerves forever! Learn more before you buy by listening to the free podcast in the downloads area.