John Medina, affiliate professor of bioengineering at the University of Washington School of Medicine, gives us 12 principles for surviving and thriving at work, home and play in his book, Brain Rules. While imparting a peer-reviewed summary of current brain research, Medina entertains us with ”the rules.”
Rule #1: Exercise boosts brainpower. Movement helps our brains grow and increases oxygen levels throughout our bodies. Oxygen is critical to effective brain function. Feeling fuzzy-headed and having trouble thinking? Get moving.
Rule #2: Our brain has evolved. We actually have three brains. The reptilian brain focuses on survival. Our mammalian brain regulates our emotions. Our third brain, the cortex, makes us human by allowing us to reason, analyze and create. If we don’t feel safe, our reptilian brain focuses on survival and keeps us from tapping into the problem-solving resources of the cortex.
Rule #3: Every brain is different. We are not going to find a common place in the brain where certain memories or functions are found. Our brain grows based on our response to our environment, and that is as unique as every person on this planet.
Rule #4: We don’t pay attention to things that aren’t interesting to us. If something is boring or holds no meaning for us, we tune out. Also, the brain can only focus on one thing at a time. Multi-tasking is a myth. We waste a lot of time and brain effort switching back and forth between multiple activities. We are better off if we focus consistently on one thing at a time. So, yep, turn off the television when you study. And instant messaging and…
Rule #5: We have to repeat information to learn it. Also, the richer the sensory experience, the more likely we are to remember it. A rich sensory experience is like we repeated information several times. We need to make an effort to repeat and use all our senses to help us remember.
Rule #6: Reliable long-term memories take many intervals of repetition, perhaps years. We can’t cram for the exam. We need to repeat the feat.
Rule #7: Sleep is important to optimum brain function. Loss of sleep affects attention, our ability to make good decisions, short-term memory, mood, the ability to deal with numbers and logic and well as quantitative skills and motor dexterity. Protect your brain. Sleep 8 -10 hours a day.
Rule #8: Stressed brains don’t learn the same way. With a stressed brain, the reptilian brain takes over, and survival trumps our ability to learn and remember.
Rule #9: The more senses we use, the more we remember. The smell of hot cocoa can trigger memories of a Christmastime sleigh ride and the words to a tune you haven’t heard in years.
Rule #10: Vision is our dominant sense, and it is not 100% accurate. We learn best through pictures, not through written or spoken words. This brain rule suggests that the old adage is true: A picture is worth a thousands words.
Rule #11: Male and female brains are different. Men don’t think like women, and women don’t think like men. Understanding the differences in how men and women process information can help us.
Rule #12: Humans are natural explorers. We are born to explore our world and be inquisitive. Our natural tendency to explore, if we use it, keeps our brain flexible and growing for all of our lives.
Use these 12 tips to have a healthy brain that will survive and thrive at any age.
Visit John Medina’s site at www.brainrules.net.
Please provide specific references for your claim about differences between male and female brains, as well as details about the alleged differences.
Patricia,
Good morning and aloha!
This article is more of a book report. The 12 rules are from Medina’s book.
Right now I am traveling and don’t have access to my copy of his book.
If you would read his chapter for Rule #11, you should find the peer-reviewed research to support his claim that male and female brains are different.
Another book, The Female Brain, also discusses some differences.
https://www.amazon.com/Female-Brain-Louann-Brizendine/dp/0767920104