10 Myths About Your Brain & Mind Power
Dispelling myths about your brain
As humans, we have made significant discoveries that shatter myths about mind power and your brain. But some legends still persist. We’ll dispel some of those for you here.Â
Memory in humans is just like a DVD or video tape.Â
In fact, our brains don’t perfectly record our experiences. Each time you think about your memories, you modify them. It’s less like watching a DVD each time you recall memories, and perhaps more like a play in your local theater – similar to the last time you saw it, but not identical.Â
Alcohol can kill brain cells.
Abusing alcohol may affect your brain, but moderate use does not kill off brain cells. However, over-drinking, binge drinking, or overly frequent drinking can affect the ability of neurons in the brain to message each other. Neurological disorders that can result from alcohol addiction may cause impaired memory, vision changes and loss of some muscle control.Â
The plasticity of the brain stops as you age.Â
Many people believe this myth. The truth is your brain is like any other muscle – you need to exercise it regularly to properly maintain agility and strength. When you learn new things, you increase your brain’s plasticity.Â
To promote the most brain plasticity, try activities like:
Doing Sudoku puzzles or other math or verbal puzzles;
Using phone or PC apps that are focused on memory and math, increasing the ability of your brain to grow new, healthy neural pathways;
Playing tennis or other types of sports that will help your brain in coordinating movements and increasing your ability to develop strategies for winning.
You have all your brain cells from birth.Â
It was once believed, even by scientists, that everyone’s brain had just a finite number of cells. If any were damaged, you’d operate with fewer brain cells for the rest of your life. In fact, your brain as an adult creates new, vital neurons, especially in your memory and learning centers.Â
Your brain retains all information it is exposed to, even if the information itself is not used.Â
In actuality, your brain will prune away connections you don’t use. So, if you’re not accessing the information you attain, it can be lost.Â
Emotions hinder your ability to think rationally.Â
Emotions do not, as was once believed, interfere with rational thinking. Your reasoning and emotional systems actually work together. When you face a risky decision, and experience an anxious tingle, that supplies you with information you shouldn’t ignore.Â
If you sustain brain damage, it will always be permanent.
Your brain can compensate for some damage or repair itself by generating new cells. It has plasticity regardless of age and is able to rewire itself when you learn new things.Â
Humans only use 10% of their brains.
This is on virtually every list of brain myths. It sounds so exact and logical. If you look at fMRI or PET scans, you will see that many areas of the brain are involved in even the simplest of tasks. When people have stroke or other damage to small areas of the brain, it can profoundly impact emotions, sensory perception, language, or movement.Â
It’s possible to multi-task effectively.Â
Multitasking as most people view it is impossible. When you think you’re working on multiple tasks, all you’re doing is switching between different tasks, back and forth. It actually takes longer, and the error rate goes up when you attempt to multi-task. In other words, if you multi-tasking you’re not doing either activity efficiently.
Mind power means we know what will make us happy.
In truth, we often have no clue what will make us happy. It’s common to overestimate how much something like a new car or a birthday party will make us happy. Money makes many people happy, but there are plenty of rich people who are miserable, even though their lives are comfortable.Â
Conclusion
Technology that includes fMRI’s (functional magnetic resonance imaging) and PET (positron emission tomography) scans can show you that the activity of your brain at any given time can actually be easily monitored.Â
Even when you are sleeping, there is activity of some level in all the parts of your brain. Use your brain to your best advantage and make it a powerful tool in your life!Â
References
https://www.fens.org/news-activities/news/discover-myths-about-the-brain
https://www.nm.org/healthbeat/healthy-tips/ten-surprising-facts-about-your-brain
https://www.orlandohealth.com/content-hub/6-common-brain-myths-debunked
https://www.edubloxtutor.com/brain-myths/
https://www.fastcompany.com/90443201/4-common-but-harmful-myths-about-how-your-brain-works
Top Ten Myths About the Brain | Science| Smithsonian Magazine
https://www.dentinstitute.com/22-facts-about-the-brain-world-brain-day/
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/top-ten-myths-about-the-brain-178357288/
dhf
If you like this content, check out my article about mind power and the support of cognitive function at: https://www.theunreliablemind.com/blog/amp-up-your-mind-power
Feel free to leave a comment.