1. The average adult human brain weighs three pounds, has a texture like firm jelly and is made up of 75 percent water.
2. Every time your heart beats, your arteries carry 20 to 25 percent of your blood to the brain. The harder you think, the more oxygen and fuel your brain will use from your blood – up to 50 percent.
3. Every time you recall a memory or have a new thought, you create a connection in the brain.
4. There are 100 billion neurons (nerve cells) in the brain, but they make up only 10 percent of the brain. These neurons branch out to 100 trillion-plus trigger points, forming what experts call a “neuron forest.”
5. Size doesn’t matter in the brain. There is no evidence that a larger brain is smarter than a smaller brain.
6. There are 100,000 miles of blood vessels in the brain. The distance around the world at the equator is 24,900 miles.
7. Did you know that it is normal for your mind to wander? A joint study by Harvard University, Dartmouth College and the University of Aberdeen in Scotland found the parts of the brain that control “task-unrelated thought” (such as daydreaming) are almost always active when the brain is at rest.
8. According to a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine, adults who participated in mind-challenging activities were 63 percent less likely to develop dementia.
9. The average number of thoughts a person has each day is 70,000.
10. The rate at which your brain processes information can range from 0.5 meters/second (about 1 mile per hour) to 120 meters/second (268 MPH).
For more information on brain health, visit Piedmont’s neurology services page.
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who was the author of these 10 facts?
This post was written by HealthWatch and Freda Wall, PA-C, clinical coordinator at the Piedmont Brain Tumor Center.