The brain is one of the main organs of the human body and also the most complex of all. Made up of billions of neurons that communicate with each other, it is responsible for regulating and maintaining all vital functions of the body. But, in addition, it is the organ where the mind and consciousness of the individual reside. It is a fascinating and interesting organ that is worth learning about in greater detail.
Although, not even scientists know everything about it. However, today science has made important discoveries that are worth knowing. Therefore, here we bring you some curious facts that you should know:
How much does the brain weigh?
A normal human brain represents 2% of the total body weight, which is about 3 pounds, but, despite the fact that this organ is only 2% of the total weight, it is capable of consuming 20% of the oxygen and the energy produced by the body. However, an incredible fact is that about 60% of the weight of the brain is fat. Something that makes it the organ with the highest amount of fat in the human body.
What is it made of?
The brain is made up of 73% water, which is why, if you are dehydrated by at least 2%, your memory, attention span and cognitive abilities can be affected. Likewise, a 90-minute session of physical exercise that causes sweating is capable of temporarily shrinking it in a similar way to a year of aging.
Neurons and brain cells
Although there is no precision in the calculations, it is estimated that our brain has approximately 86 billion brain cells. To get an idea of the complexity of the calculation, a small sample of brain tissue the size of a grain of sand has 100,000 neurons, of which each neuron has the power to transmit 1,000 nerve impulses in one second and one million synapses occur to communicate with each other.
Need for oxygen
It is well known that oxygen is one of the most important and necessary elements for our body. And of course, the brain is no exception, as it needs a constant supply of oxygen for its proper functioning. Otherwise, a lack of oxygen, for example, for five minutes could cause some brain cells to die and cause serious brain damage.
Size and maturity
It seems incredible, but to adapt to the rapid growth of the brain, babies’ heads are larger. In fact, this rapid growth leads a 2-year-old child to have a brain that is 80% the size of an adult brain. However, in spite of this, this organ does not stop growing, but it will not reach full maturity until around the age of 25.
Electrical energy!
While it is well known that nerve impulses are the way our brain communicates with the rest of the body, what very few people know is that the human brain is capable of producing between 12 and 25 watts of electricity, which is enough energy to light an LED bulb in a refrigerator, whose energy requirement is 25 watts.
Generator of thoughts
Surely you have noticed that in an instant you may be thinking something, but a second later you find yourself thinking about something completely different. Well, this is because our brain is such a perfect machine that it is capable of generating approximately 50,000 thoughts per day. It can even handle several thought processes at the same time. So it is not surprising that it is also known as a “random generator of thoughts”.
Size does not matter
Scientists have found that men’s brains are 10% larger than women’s. However, that does not mean that they are smarter or have a better memory than women because the hippocampus, which is the part responsible for memory, is larger in women.
Einstein’s brain
Another fact with which we can corroborate that the size of the brain does not matter is related to Albert Einstein’s brain. It weighed 1,230 grams (2.71 pounds), which is about 10% less than the average weight of a human brain, which is 3 pounds. Although, the density of neurons in this genius’s brain was higher than average.
Cons of technology
Although technology forces us to perform multiple tasks at the same time, our brain is not able to easily learn to concentrate on more than one task at a time. In fact, over time this type of dynamic can cause our attention span, short-term memory, learning capacity, and of course mental performance to decrease.
Dieting is not the best for the brain
Our body is able to consume the energy reserves that coat the stomach when we are starving. In the same way, to curb hunger and obtain energy, our brain cells are able to cannibalize each other. So if you are thinking of forcing your body to starve a little in the name of the diet, you will also be forcing your brain to eat itself.
We use more than 10% of our brain
One of the most widespread myths about the brain is that humans supposedly use only 10% of its power, which is completely false since, through brain scans, it has been shown that even when we are asleep we use most of it. Even a simple action, such as closing and opening the fist of our hand or saying a few words requires more activity than more than a tenth of the brain.
Effects of alcohol
While it is said that alcohol can kill or damage neurons, this is completely false. Alcohol only affects the neuronal connections of the cerebellum, which are responsible for reinforcing functions such as memory and logical reasoning, and motor coordination.
Therefore, since our brain cannot connect properly, it cannot form memories while we are drunk, which means that it is not that we have forgotten what we did but that the memory was never really created. Additionally as has been proven in autopsies of teetotalers and alcohol addicts the brains of both have the same number of neurons.
Fewer than stars
Another quite widespread claim about the brain states that there are more cells in the brain than stars in the Milky Way, but again this is nothing more than a myth, as there is no revised or published article by neuroscientists to support such a claim.
According to estimates, there are approximately 86 billion neurons in the human brain. While the most recent estimates for the number of stars in the Milky Way suggest that there are between 200 and 400 billion.
Brain plasticity
For a long time, it was thought that we were all born with a certain number of brain cells and that it was impossible to generate new neurons after birth. However, it has been discovered that the brain has the capacity to form new brain cells, through a process called neurogenesis, which, gives it the capacity to change and use these new neurons to contribute its functions; a property that is known as cerebral plasticity.
According to research by a team of scientists at the Karolinska Medical Institute (Sweden), every day our brain produces 1,400 new neurons. However, this rate decreases as we get older, although we continue to generate new cells up to the age of 90.
The brain does not feel pain
Although the brain processes pain from other parts of the body, curiously it does not feel pain because it has no pain receptor nerves. To be precise, nerve endings are usually found in the skin and our brain has no skin, therefore, it is unable to feel pain. So, it is possible to perform brain surgery on a patient who is awake and still does not feel any discomfort or pain.
Introverted vs. Extroverted
According to science, there is a distinction between introvert and extroverted people: their brains are different. According to a study conducted by the University of Harvard, the brain of introverts has a greater amount of gray matter, which explains why they dedicate more time to abstract thinking, pay more attention to detail, or better control their impulses and are overwhelmed by excessive stimulation.
Whereas the brain of the extroverted is more active, so they usually tend to associate excitement or overstimulation as a form of reward, which lowers their levels of anxiety.
Storage of the brain
Although sometimes it seems that our brain can no longer save more information, you will be surprised to know that the storage capacity of our brain has no limits. A recent research of the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California, estimates that the memory capacity of the brain is one Petabyte of data, which is one trillion bytes.
To get an idea of how big this is, we can say that it is the same amount that is required to store the information of the entire Internet.
ALFA