Brain Rules
Insights into optimizing brain function for personal and professional growth.
Summary of 7 Key Points
Key Points
- Exercise boosts brain power
- The human brain evolved, too
- Every brain is wired differently
- We don’t pay attention to boring things
- Repeat to remember
- Stimulate more of the senses
- Vision trumps all other senses
key point 1 of 7
Exercise boosts brain power
Exercise has numerous beneficial impacts on the brain, not only does it improve cognition but it also enhances mood and focus. It achieves this by stimulating physiological changes through the release of growth factors, chemicals in the brain that affect the health of brain cells, the growth of new blood vessels in the brain, and even the abundance and survival of new brain cells…Read&Listen More
key point 2 of 7
The human brain evolved, too
The human brain didn’t just magically appear in its current form, rather it has gone through a long process of evolution. The human brain holds a complex structure, which is the result of millions of years of evolution. It evolved in response to various environmental challenges and pressures. The changes in environmental situations, like the need to hunt in packs or to communicate more effectively, have triggered the brain to evolve complex functions to enhance survival chances…Read&Listen More
key point 3 of 7
Every brain is wired differently
The uniqueness of each individual’s brain wiring is an intriguing aspect. It signifies that every person’s brain is distinct, with its own characteristic structure and connections. The neural circuits in our brains, which are primarily responsible for our thoughts, emotions, and behavior, are never identical from one person to another. This indicates that our brains are not ‘hard-wired’ from birth, but rather are constantly changing and adapting based on our experiences and the environment around us…Read&Listen More
key point 4 of 7
We don’t pay attention to boring things
The human brain is created in such a way that it inherently dismisses uninteresting elements. It only pays heed to stimuli that are exciting, meaningful, and compelling. This is a survival mechanism that the brain has developed over the course of evolution to filter out unnecessary noise and focus on what’s critical. When confronted with boring or monotonous information, the brain automatically switches itself off, rendering the process of learning or comprehension ineffective…Read&Listen More
key point 5 of 7
Repeat to remember
The human brain has evolved to be extremely pattern-seeking. Understanding and remembering information involves recognizing patterns and then predicting what comes next. In fact, the brain is particularly good at recognizing patterns when it encounters repeated presentations of the same information. Therefore, repetition is a powerful tool for encoding information into our long-term memory…Read&Listen More
key point 6 of 7
Stimulate more of the senses
Our brains evolved to learn through our senses. In the prehistoric era, survival depended on the ability to quickly understand and respond to the environment using all senses: sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell. This multisensory engagement not only enhanced the accuracy of information processing but also helped in the retention and retrieval of information, playing an integral role in learning and memory…Read&Listen More
key point 7 of 7
Vision trumps all other senses
Vision is the most dominant sense in human beings, taking up half of our brain’s resources. We are incredibly good at remembering pictures. Hear a piece of information, and three days later you’ll remember 10% of it. Add a picture and you’ll remember 65%. Our brains have evolved to pay attention to and remember visual information much better than any other type of information. This is partly why we find visually rich experiences, like movies or graphic novels, so engaging and memorable…Read&Listen More