More than 2000 years ago, philosophers like Hippocrates began exploring the human brain and its many functions.
Today, many scientists around the world are dedicated to the study of our body’s most complex organ, the brain. These individuals are called neuroscientists, a term that was coined in the early 1960s by Francis Schmitt, a biophysicist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
When it comes to the brain, there is still a lot we do not know. However, thanks to advances in the tools used to study and look at different parts of the brain and its functioning, there is more known than ever before.
Now the science community has access to high-powered microscopes used to analyze and study brain cells up close. Brain cells are called neurons, and they perform countless functions. They are the building blocks of our brain tissue, and the basis of our neurological activity and connectivity.
Just as general cell health is foundational to the health of our body, neuronal health is essential to brain health.
Another device which is commonly used to explore the brain is called a functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging machine, or fMRI for short. It can measure changes in the brain right as it is happening! If a person thinks about something that makes them happy, sad, angry, or worried, etc., the machine can detect what part of the brain is related to that specific emotion. This can provide useful information on how specific parts of the brain perform certain functions and work together with other brain regions. Fascinating, isn’t it?
For you and anyone else alive on the planet, you are fortunate to have access to ground-breaking neuroscience information that has been making its way into mainstream awareness. Likely your parents or grandparents did not have access to these brain-changing discoveries that have the amazing ability to improve how we think, feel, and act in everyday life, both personally and professionally. But you do!
This is what Brain Fitness is all about: the practical application of user-friendly neuroscience to support daily life needs and goals, in the workplace, learning settings, and at home.
To elevate your brain-game, here are some brain ‘must knows’ that may affect how you learn, function, and move towards your goals.
SIX THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR BRAIN:
- USE IT OR LOSE IT – This popularized saying refers to the pruning out of brain cells that are not connected in a network with other neurons and therefore are not being used. Your head is only so big, so your brain is a pro-gardener. It is constantly weeding out unnecessary matter that will get in the way of new growth.
- WHAT MATTERS MOST – Your brain will only consolidate into memory the people, places and things that are most frequent, useful, and meaningful to you and your life. It would not be beneficial if your brain remembered every person you met, every word you read, every conversation you had. It is selective, based on your personal needs, interests, and goals, as well as what contributes to your survival or rewards you in some way.
- SAFETY FIRST – Your brain is designed to keep you safe, so it is always on the lookout for danger. After all, if a danger causes your death, your health, relationships, and career path are of no consequence. Every five seconds your brain scans the environment that you are in for potential threats, and it is programmed to not only look for what is going wrong but what ‘could’ go wrong.
- CUP HALF EMPTY – Looking at the ‘glass as half empty’ can easily become a habit if you are not aware of your brain’s critical and protective thinking. As much as your pleasure is important, it is not your brain’s top priority; your survival is. Therefore, your brain will move more quickly away from a threat than towards a reward.
- YOUR BRAIN AND BODY ARE ONE – For far too long, society has viewed intelligence and thinking as being from the ‘neck up’, and the integrated mind-body system has been overlooked. Your brain is neurologically woven throughout your entire body. This practise of ‘fractionalizing and compartmentalizing’ may have temporary benefits when it comes to specific understanding of the parts that compose the whole. However, in order to effectively heal and optimize our system and abilities, we need a holistic approach.
- NEUROPLASTICITY IS A SUPERPOWER: Your brain is a jelly-like substance that is malleable and changeable. Your daily habits are either shrinking and inhibiting or expanding and strengthening your brain health and cognition. With the right knowledge and tools, all of us can tap into this ‘plasticene-like’ nature to modify, to change and to grow our brain at every age and stage of life.
Now that you have this Brain Science 101 information, the next step is for you to apply it to your own life and to see what amazing new growth awaits you!
If you are looking for strategies and support that you can implement right away, you are invited to visit our Brain Fitness education page.
To Your Fit Brain & Fit Life,
Jill