Interesting Facts About the Brain

Undoubtedly the most important part of our body, the brain plays a crucial role in smooth functioning of various human body systems. Even though there are numerous disciplines which specialize in the study of human brain, with psychology and neuroscience at the forefront of our attempts to study it, we are yet to decipher some of the most intricate processes of this organ. This very fact highlights the complex nature of the human brain. It is a well-known fact that we humans have the most complex brain among all living beings that inhabit this planet, but there also exists some facts about it which most of us are not aware of.

10 Most Interesting Facts About the Human Brain

Were you aware of the fact that the right side of our body is controlled by the left side of our brain and the left side of our body is controlled by the right side of this organ? Did you know that our brain can live without oxygen for as long as 5 minutes on an average? Doesn't that sound amazing? Given below is a list of more facts which you must have never heard before.

• Even though our brain is full of nerve cells, it doesn't have any pain receptors. This invariably means that we won't feel any pain even when the doctor is operating our brain while we are wide awake.
• Our brain is divided into two parts - the right hemisphere and left hemisphere. Interestingly, the right hemisphere controls the left part of the body while the left hemisphere controls the right part.
• The slowest speed at which information travels between the neurons in our brain is 260mph. Now that is as fast as the fastest super-cars that are manufactured today.
• Yet another amazing attribute of our brain is the fact that around 1000ml of blood flows through it every single minute.
• When we cross the age of 30, our brain starts shrinking at a rate of 0.25 percent with every passing year.
• When we are fully awake, our brain generates around 23 watts of power, which is enough to power a light bulb.
• Our brain can carry on for 4 - 6 minutes after the oxygen supply to it is cut, and then it starts dying.
• Even though half of the neurons in the brain reside in cerebellum, the cerebellum occupies a mere 10 percent of the total size of our brain.
• Our brain absorbs around 46 cubic centimeters of oxygen from the body, of which only 6 percent is absorbed by the white matter, while the remaining 94 percent is absorbed by gray matter.
• Even though Albert Einstein is considered to be the smartest human being on the planet, his brain weighing 1,230 grams was slightly smaller than the average human brain.

Some Fascinating Facts for Kids

While the facts mentioned above are quite amazing in themselves, they are also a bit too complicated for kids to understand. Given below is a compilation of some simple facts which the kids will be able to grasp with ease.

• The most important part of our nervous system, the brain is 5.5 inches wide, 6.5 inches long and measures 3.6 inches in terms of height.
• When we are born, our brain weighs a mere 350 - 400g, but as we reach adulthood it weighs approximately 1300 - 1400g.
• Even though our brain makes up a mere 2 percent of the total body mass, it consumes as much as 20 percent of the total energy required by our body.
• Interestingly, the brain is also the fattiest part of the body with a fat content of around 60 percent.
• Studies have revealed that reading aloud to a growing child or talking with the child promotes brain development.
• When we laugh, as many as five different areas of our brain get into action.
• Our body temperature is regulated by a small part of the brain known as the hypothalamus.
• The human brain is so soft that a table knife would be more than enough to slice through it.
• On an average 100,000 miles of blood vessels make their way through the human brain.

As in case of these all these facts, there also exist some myths about the human brain. One of the most popular being the belief that only 10 percent of our brain is active at any given point of time. The fact is that each of the different parts of the human brain has different functions, and therefore entire brain has to be active for smooth function of various body systems at any given point of time.