
The three-pound human brain is one of the most intricate organs, surpassing the most advanced supercomputer. It controls everything you do, from reading this sentence to dreaming up wild inventions. Despite being a small organ, the brain is packed with complexities scientists are still trying to understand. Ready to learn the astonishing truths about your brain? Click through our 15-slide gallery to explore its incredible capabilities and surprising facts!
Stores Massive Data

Our brains can reserve 2.5 petabytes of data, equivalent to roughly 3 million hours of TV shows. This immense capacity allows us to retain a lifetime of memories and experiences. Thanks to the intricate 100 trillion neural networks, we quickly and accurately remember information.
Consumes 20% of Total Body Energy

Are you aware that your brain uses about 20% of your body’s energy despite accounting for only about 2% of your body weight? The high energy demand is necessary to support continuous electrical activity, which coordinates every thought, movement, and sensation.
A Fast Information Processor

Neurons in the brain can transmit information at high speeds of up to 268 miles per hour. The brain’s rapid transmission facilitates quick reflexes, instant decision-making, and seamless body movement coordination.
A Lifetime Learning Machine

Human brains have the superpower to change and adapt throughout life. Neuroplasticity allows the brain to rearrange itself by creating fresh neural links whenever you learn or experience new things. A new lesson means a new connection.
Naps Fire Up Its Creative Potential

During naptime, the brain sometimes generates vivid, often surreal experiences that can inspire creativity and problem-solving. Nier Bohr, the physicist behind the atom’s structure, credited this revelation with a dream. Scholars, linguists, and artists — across disciplines — report similar breakthroughs.
Powerful Emotional Processor

You’re mistaken if you think your heart determines your emotions because that’s the brain’s job! The limbic system within the brain processes emotions using the amygdala, hippocampus, and hypothalamus to regulate all your emotional responses, including sexual stimulation, memory, and motivation.
It Has Two Areas Focused on Fluency

Our speech capability to understand and communicate is also part of the brain’s functioning. The Wernicke’s area controls word comprehension, and the Broca’s area, working with the motor cortex, helps with speech production.
Directly Links to Your Gut

Have you ever felt happy or motivated after consuming certain foods? Coffee, chocolate, or berries? Well, that is because of the gut-brain axis. Specific foods interact with some neurotransmitters to influence mood, digestion, and overall well-being. The gut’s network of neurons influences these changes.
Acts as a Memory Converter

The hippocampus, a small structure within the brain, forms and stores memories. After a while, the hippocampus converts short-term memories into long-term ones, helping the limbic system learn and recall better. Your brain makes remembering grade 2 math a piece of cake.
Powers Consciousness

Scholars — scientists, philosophers, and researchers — term consciousness as a state of awareness. When conscious, you can make decisions and solve problems faster because the brain’s flexible response mechanism takes in information and reacts accordingly.
It Needs Sleep to Heal

As you sleep, your brain also takes a break and starts healing. It clears out toxins, consolidates memories, and supports learning and cognitive performance. This nightly restoration is crucial for maintaining mental health and overall well-being. Just make sure you sleep for 7-9 hours!
Stress Stresses the Brain

Chronic stress shrinks the hippocampus, affecting memory and learning. Stress also aggravates inflammation, spreading the damage to your heart. You can protect your brain from its demise by having a routine, getting enough sleep, exercising, and eating right.
Each Brain Hemisphere Has Specialized Jobs

The brain has two hemispheres: the left hemisphere handles all the logical reasoning and language tasks, and the right, creativity, non-verbal memory, and spatial awareness. The right side also controls muscles on the left side of your body and vice versa.
The Brain Dances to Music

When listening to your favorite jam, certain brain sections light up, evoking emotion, memory, and motor control. This incredible response shows how deeply music is wired into our neural circuitry. Music can also create new neural connections, keeping our brains healthy and young.
It Stores Scented Memories

Ever found a familiar scent instantly transporting you to a specific moment? That is because the brain stores all the memories and emotions associated with smells. The olfactory bulb links to the hippocampus and amygdala, making scents powerful triggers for emotional memories.
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