I like to share some of the interesting findings I’ve made by reading about the power of the most valuable asset we have – the brain. The motivation for finding this information was partially for a Topic in the Toastmasters Speech Craft program. The other partial was perhaps due to pain in the rear-end.
Brain is one of the few organs where we do not think of deliberately exercising and keeping fit. Most people engage in physical exercise to keep the heart in good check, burn fat, develop biceps etc., but very little on developing the power of your brain.
The human brain consists of 100 billion cells. Each cell stems out 4 neuron connections, making 400 billion connections, more than 40 times bigger than the global telecommunication system where signals travel faster than the speed of light! Each neuron shoots a tiny electrical current. The combined electrical output of a healthy human brain produces 60 watts of power. Yes. An EEG machine can measure this output and determine if your 3 pounds of Gray and White matter is ticking well.
We are killing our brain – on a daily basis!!!
Do you know that our lifestyle contributes to the deterioration of the brain? Everyday day we kill 10,000 to 100,000 neuron connections, making it difficult for us to recall information we have stored previously or limiting / weakening some of our physical, emotional or mental capabilities. Stress ( yes, work stress ) is one of the biggest assassins of the brain. Depending on the level of stress, you may lose anything between 10,000 to a million neurons on extreme stress conditions. Have you notice that when you are hit by severe stress your head goes numb. It has happened to me a couple of times. Scientist say that this is a side effect of the trauma caused by stress and the disconnect among neurons due to a surge of chemicals that inhibits the usual signal exchange between neurons. Other factors that causes the loss of your brain power can range from lack of sleep ( Yes, next to stress), stimulants including caffeine, engage in monotonous, mundane work that requires little brain power ( now we have seen a lot of that around our workplaces ), drugs, medication such as sedatives and of cause medical conditions.
What do we do?
Don’t panic. The Brain is a fantastic organ like no other. It can self-repair and re-vitalize on its own. But the recovery is slower than the speed of loss. Sleep is the best remedy for your brain to re-vitalize and rejuvenate. How many hours do you sleep? I see my colleagues including myself, butting up late hours either working or perhaps browsing the net and getting up again early to have a head start on work. Do you know that your few hours of sleep is worthless for the brain? You need at least good six to seven hours of sleep including 2 hours deep sleep (minimum) for the repair. Consider the process as a hard disk defragmentation and cleanup. After the process, the computer seems to work faster as the I/O times have improved. The same thing happens in your brain and makes you remember things much better. Recall information much faster.
Other actions to help re-construct your damaged connections include deep breathing, yoga (now some of my friends may go “Ga Ga” ) and physical exercises. This increases blood flow to the brain, make the brain enlarge temporarily, improve oxygen supply and relaxes the brain. Other more interesting activities ( you must try them) include learning a new language ( unlocks hidden capabilities of your brain), learning to play a new musical instrument ( causes many segments of the brain to develop and bring out new capability or enhance what you already have), laugh – now we have lost one important character that was helping us at office to practice this ever so often. Dance ( helps you develop the brain just as learning a new musical instrument), train your other hand to do usual things that you do with your most frequently used hand. For example open doors with your left hand if you are a right hander. Comb your hair, brush your teeth or even practice writing using your left hand. (Lefthanders wise versa please).
Are we created equal?
Remember we are not created equal. If each segment is taken and analyzed, our brains are of different proportions. Even identical twins do not have equal brains. Some are born with brain defects that makes them differently able (some call them disabled – but I am using the politically correct term here). Some deformities have made people perform better than an average human. Albert Einstein had a deformed brain where his analytical thinking area was much bigger than an average human brain. Plus there were some segments under developed in his brain. ( you can look up this stuff on the web). That explains why he became such a genius and why he thought quite differently than us. Besides he could write using both hands equally well. Others include the famous “Rain Man” and the wonder boy from England called Daniel ( still living and can look up on You Tube – amazing mental calculations and a must see)
So what?
So you may ask the question, “What is in this blog that makes it worth for me to read?” Well firstly it was your choice and second, you are about to understand how you can get your brain to work better. The upside is that you can practice the suggestions below and improve your business value. Your worth in the organization as your boss may see some new potential, capability or talents you have started to show. Remember you already had them; you only managed to get others to notice them by simply sharpening the capability. You may find an innovative idea, new ways of tackling old problems, completing your work in shorter time span, arriving at decisions faster ( after careful thought process), inventing new problems or solutions ( yes you read it right). Discovering a solution for a problem you have been grappling for a long time. The list is endless.
So what do you do? Try any of these for starters
- Get a good sleep. Have a deep slumber at least three to four times a week ( tough ugh?)
- Dance, physical exercise, Yoga, Laud Laughter ( preferably in office)
- Learn a new language ( not programming), musical instrument ( let’s strum that Guitar at office)
- Train your less used hand to do most of the routine work ( did I say that right?)
- Read, speed read and reverse read
- Develop imaginary friends where you can bounce off ideas ( now this sound wearied, but I remember an ex-colleague having a whole team of imaginary subordinates – LOL )
- Translate what you hear to a language of choice on the fly
These activities can get your brain up to 60 watts of power and get the signals to travel faster than the speed of light.
There are few side effects of improved brain activity – yes if you are generating 60 watts then you will;
- Look younger
- Slow the aging process
- Appear more attractive to the opposite gender
Now isn’t that great news?
There’s a lot that I can share about what I have learned. Such as brain anatomy, the functions of different segments and the theory of left brain and right brain orientation, Jungian personality, modern theory of Knowledge Management ( from the studies of Nonaka and Takeuchi), Discoveries of extraordinary people such as Albert Einstein etc. with how these can relate to your day to day work improvements and understanding others. Perhaps, if the demand exist, I may add some into the next blog. Let me know.
