The human brain is a big, complicated organ. Responsible for making sure that pretty much everything in the body works properly, the brain has more computing power than any piece of technology in the world today.
In fact, the brain is so complicated that scientists aren’t even sure how most of it works. We don’t know how memories form, what memories look like, or even how exactly the brain stores them.
With all of that said, there are a few things we know. One of those things is that the brain goes through some interesting changes every time you learn something new. Such as:
1. YOUR BRAIN MOVES
- That’s right, your brain is always changing. From about six weeks in the embryo until you die, your brain constantly changes connections and grows new cells.
2. YOUR BRAIN GETS BORED.
- Once you’re familiar with a particular subject, your brain actually reduces blood flow to those areas. That leads to daydreaming, attention loss, and general apathy. So that’s why I didn’t do well in Honors American History. I already knew it all!
3. YOUR CELLS CHANGE WHEN YOU LEARN STUFF.
- Learning new things actually helps your brain cells do things more efficiently by reinforcing the myelin sheath. Some scientists think this is what causes muscle memory.
4. SLEEPS HELPS YOU REMEMBER THINGS.
- Losing sleep can actually lead to worse memory recall. That’s because your brain stores new info while you’re catching ZZZs.
5. YOUR BRAIN ALSO HAS CELLS CALLED GLIA.
- Glia, Greek for glue, keep your nerve cells together. They also make your neuron cells more efficient. For a while scientists thought they didn’t really do anything, but it turns out that they help reinforce axons. Shows what they know!
6. IT’S ALWAYS IN FLUX.
- Neuroplasticity is the fancy science word for how your brain changes. It doesn’t mean that your noggin is made out of plastic, but it does mean that your cells and their connections are always in flux.
7. YOUR BRAIN ADAPTS TO DAMAGE.
- According to Sharpbrains, when you damage portions of your brain, it can re-learn the same tasks in different parts of the brain. It proves that you can teach old dogs new tricks.
8. THE THINGS YOU LEARN MAKE YOUR BRAIN GROW DIFFERENTLY.
- Scientists figured out that taxi drivers have a bigger hippocampus than bus drivers. That’s because taxi drivers go a different route every day than bus drivers, so they need better spacial awareness.
9. THE BRAIN IS CONNECTED IN INTERESTING WAYS.
- Losing a certain sense can change your behavior in crazy and unpredictable ways. Scientists found that people who suffer from vision loss end up losing weight. Why? Because they couldn’t see the food as well!
10. USE IT OR LOSE IT.
- Your brain never stops growing and changing. That means that your lifestyle can help make sure you preserve your mental acuity. Doing small things like brain games, taking up a new hobby, or learning an instrument are all ways to keep your noggin sharp.
The brain is an amazing piece of biology. Scientists are constantly learning new things about how it works, and that’s because the brain never stops working, and it never stops changing. From the nerves to the hippocampus, interesting things are happening all of the time, and it’s up to every person to make sure to keep his or brain as healthy and active as possible.
