It's amazing how little we know what the brain is and how it works. It is reliably known that the brain is capable of generating electrical impulses and is capable of operating a 25-watt bulb! Now imagine how much effort and energy is used to maintain all vital processes in the norm, how many resources are needed to control vital activity at the highest levels. How does this happen and why? And where does the brain get its energy for such strong organizational work? Is it possible to prolong the tone and youthfulness of the brain, and how to charge the brain, we tell in the article.
How the brain works
The brain is like jelly and it is fragile jelly. To avoid injuries and injuries, nature ensured that he was reliably protected. First, a strong skull and second, a soft connective tissue membrane that prevents the brain from hitting the walls of the skull. Finally, the cerebrospinal fluid inside the skull protects the brain from concussions and injuries.
What is the brain?This is about one and a half kilograms of "smart" mass in the human body, consisting of billions of neurons, processes of nerve cells (axons), through which nerve impulses and signals are transmitted. In addition, each signal is generated and received by a specific part of the brain. To prevent malfunctions in its work, the brain needs 20% of all oxygen transported by the body's cells, fats and carbohydrates in sufficient quantities. Their deficiency leads to decreased concentration of attention, memory, induces psychosis, depressive states and disables other systems and organs. Disorders are often seen in those who regularly experiment with diets and dietary restrictions. People who are hungry are also among those whose brain cells primarily suffer - irritation and aggression appear.
What are the functions of the brain?
The brain is our everything! It depends on him whether we raise our hand, scrape the back of our heads, cry or laugh, fall in love, remember it or forget it. Whether we live happily ever after or suffer whether we are healthy or sick depends on the quality of the processes that take place in the brain. Who we become or do not become, what talents we will develop and what characters we will possess. The brain controls everything and even a little more than we think. As the main organ of the central nervous system, it has a clear hierarchy of functions. Each zone is responsible for certain functions.
- The front lobe is responsible for conscious movements, for speaking and writing skills, for our will and desire to achieve results.
- The temporal zones are responsible for the perception of speech, auditory and visual information, for long-term memory, face recognition and are responsible for the ear for music, rhythm and musical perception.
- The parietal zone is responsible for orientation in space, conscious movements, registration of body and its parts, recognition of objects, calculation in mind, feeling of pain, touch, high and low temperatures.
- The occipital region is responsible for the processing of visual information. Eyes is a device that reads a picture of the world around us by exposure to light. But the back of the brain transforms it and converts light into electrical impulses.
- The cerebellum is responsible for maintaining balance and coordinating movements.
The brain works all the time, all the time and not and not 3-5% as it was stated. Even in a dream. The claim that the brain rests at night is not entirely true. The work of the brain at rest at night differs only in the activity of the regions. More precisely, the frequency of impulses in the cerebral cortex increases. But what's going on? It is in the moment of sleep that the subconscious enters the stage, the experience, the emotions and knowledge are sorted and distributed, and most importantly, the restoration of the body's systems and organs. He claims that sleepiness is a signal from the body that it needs a "control" and recovery.
How many resources does the brain need daily
When one understands how much data is contained in the brain and how many functions it performs, a reasonable question arises - what is needed to improve the quality of the brain, improve its capabilities and prolong the youth of the cell? And are there any pills that, as in the movies, would turn the brain into a supercomputer?
Brain Nutrition
The brain uses most of the resources that come in a day. So for daily self-care at rest (we assume this is a normal day in "light" state without physical exertion and costly intellectual activity) the brain uses 250 kcal. If a person turns on the condition with increased complexity, the brain takes the prescribed 750-1000 from the daily calorie intake. Now imagine that a diet with a calorie intake of 1300-1500 will simply be knocked down at the end of the day, even in light mode. After all, to go to work every day, manage the baby at home, do physical work, exercise abdominal muscles, cook, consume and digest, the body needs at least 2000 kcal, without taking into account the cost of maintaining the brain +500kcal on average. You will definitely succeed in losing weight fast. But it is not necessary to say that a person with a restricted diet will successfully overcome the stressful situations and strains of everyday life, achieve good results in the professional field or in sports.
Vitamins for the mind
In addition to energy consumption, the brain needs vitamins and minerals for normal functioning. Their deficiency in the body can be created constantly. The cause can be regular physical activity, unhealthy diet, diet, stress, lack of sleep, seasonal changes, disturbances in the function of certain organs and systems (the gastrointestinal tract or the endocrine system), for which the brain is again responsible.
Do you remember this famous phrase - all diseases are from nerves? This is absolutely true! And the leader of the entire nervous system is the brain! So by checking the brain, regularly feeding it, you can not only pump the nervous system, but also protect yourself from many diseases.
Researchers agree that the average life expectancy of a person is greatly underestimated. In fact, under ideal conditions, healthy sleep, high-quality nutrition, regular meditation practice (a tool to relieve stress, improve the nervous system, intellectual and spiritual growth), Homo Sapiens may possibly make it 150. Of course, vitamin supplements do not make youlive up to 150 years, but they will certainly be able to help on the way to the coveted figure.
Vitamins for the mind
Intelligence can be pumped like the triceps. And to ensure the youth and plasticity of the mind, its clarity and freshness, it is better to pump it daily. What vitamins can help in this difficult but extremely important matter?
Vitamins in group B - ensure normal operation of the transmission of nerve impulses from neuron to neuron, improve blood supply to the brain and thus increase access to oxygen - one of the brain's most important resources. They nourish the nervous system and prevent insomnia, depression and fatigue, which directly affect the quality of brain cells, the quality of neural connections and transmitted impulses.
Vitamins from group P. Today 5, 000 substances are known that have the same properties as vitamins from group P. These include flavonoids, anthocyanidins, isoflavonoids - powerful antioxidants. Vitamins in group P protect the brain and blood vessels, improve their tone. They slow down oxidative processes in the body, improve cell metabolism.
Vitamin C - whose deficiency causes the degeneration of connective tissue in the body, which slows down or stops the production of collagen. Due to the lack of vitamin C, the balance between enzymes necessary for the functioning of organs and systems is disturbed. Vitamin acts as a catalyst for metabolic processes. Protects the body and brain, protects against mental or physical overload.
Omega-3 is a source of docosahexaenoic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid and linolenic acids, which the body cannot synthesize on its own. And they have an important function - neuroprotective. Omega-3 helps increase and maintain mental awareness, especially in light of stress and seasonal blues.
Vitamin E is a valuable substance in the cell membrane of brain cells. Due to the vitamin, the body produces the DHA-PC biomarker, the lack of which increases the chances of getting Alzheimer's disease. Vitamin E significantly prevents the loss of molecules that are very important for the brain and the death of neurons.
Multivitamins and drugs that improve brain activity and nutrition of brain cells with proven efficacy: dry extract of Ginkgo biloba leaves, glycine.
How to improve brain function
As long as I believe, I live. In fact, a sensible person is able to move all of humanity with the power of thought and thanks to thought. But there is also a disadvantage to the coin. Thinking a lot is really harmful. A wandering stream of thoughts can free the brain to the state of "squeezed lemon". After all, any thought energy is thrown away if it does not receive physical execution. And the constant energy gap in the head is not able to give strength to do something right and worth instead of thoughts. This is how laziness, depression, internal aggression are born, the brain begins to work differently and certainly not for the better. Learn to stop the flow of faces, memories, dreams, dialogues within yourself, learn to relax and meditate. Special exercises to develop attention and concentration will help you do this.
Feed your brain. In all senses. Do not offend or deprive him, for he contains you and you - him. The game with only one goal ends sooner or later in defeat. Give your brain a good intellectual dinner, eat a nutritious breakfast, play educational games for lunch. And very soon he will respond to your care 10 times stronger. Will give new ideas, strength, a good figure and youth, good sleep, good mood and harmonious relationships. That's what you want, right? Then feed your brain with nuts, fish, delicious books and smart people.
Stimulate pleasure centers. The brain really needs joy. For him, it is the engine of progress. The best helper in this case is serotonin. Get it every day: any creativity you like, your favorite hobby and self-realization, sports, laughter, walks, singing, dancing. And if you think you do not have time for this, then it will be useful for you to find out about it.
Learn something new every day. A new foreign word, a new country and its capital, a new word from an explanatory dictionary, new useful information. This can be easily done with the help of special mobile applications that tell you a new word every day. Teaching is easy. And this is the case when the brain will generate it in the form of energy for all desires and achievements!
Sport is also capable of pumping the brain and also protects neurons and neural connections. Oddly enough, a couch potato who reads a book will remember less information than someone who regularly goes in for sports and reads "smart" books in their spare time.
In any ambiguous situation - sleep! This joke has the right to life because the brain in a dream patches, repairs, heals not only itself but the whole body as a whole. What do you usually do when you do not know the way out of the current situation, what is the best solution? You're wasting energy! Give your brain enough sleep to give you the best solution to dead end and the right answer to your life question. The answer comes quickly and you will definitely find a way out. Lack of sleep, accompanied by endless thoughts before falling asleep, can lead to bad consequences.