How to Get the Most Out of Your Brain

           The brain is the most sophisticated information-transfer system on Earth and most of us have no idea how our brains work.  John Medina has explained the things we do know about how the brain works in his book titled Brain Rules.  Medina shows us the science behind what he refers to as the 12 brain rules, and he presents ideas on how each rule might apply to our daily lives, specifically at work or at school.

           Though we know very little about how the brain works, mankind’s history tells us that the brain appears to be designed to solve problems, that it is related to our survival, that it has functioned in changing outdoor environments and has done all this while we were in almost constant motion.

           Our brains are wired together in such a way that allows us to problem solve though exploration as we hunted for food and shelter during the dawn of mankind.  To survive the great outdoors we needed to learn from our mistakes and remember what we learned.  According to Medina, “our brains actually were built to survive in jungles and grasslands” (5).  And this brings explains Medina’s first brain rule which is that the brain evolved so mankind could survive.  It didn’t get bigger, but it got smarter as we learned from our mistakes.  While we were busy learning from our mistakes, we were also walking over many miles every day as we were in pursuit of food and shelter.  Which brings us to Medina’s second brain rule:  Exercise boosts brain power.

           As our early ancestors were traveling across country they had to face all kinds of difficulties such as fires or floods, climbing mountains or passing through deserts.  They were constantly encountering new experiences and dangers.  We can surmise that we grew up in top physical shape and our brain was also challenged on a daily basis.  Our survival depended on both.

           Today, our survival doesn’t completely depend on our being in top physical shape or even if we have great brain strength.  However, our happiness and satisfaction with life does have a lot to do with both.  Physical movement affects us in a positive way.  It even helps us to counteract depression.  By challenging our minds we stay alert, curious and involved with the world around us.  This leads to Medina’s third brain rule which I’ll leave to you to investigate.  Here’s a clue to Medina’s third brain rule:  what do you crave about 2 o’clock in the afternoon?