In Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School (2008), molecular biologist, Dr John Medina, focuses on how brain sciences may influence the way we learn and the way we work. He hypothesises rather than prescribes potential ways to apply the research in our daily lives and says that from the classroom to the cubicle, we are doing it all wrong.
Dr Medina calls the brain easily the most sophisticated information-transfer system on Earth, and rightly claims that most of us have no idea how our brain works. Having said that, scientists do know the brain processes information. For example, we know something about the brain’s evolutionary performance envelope, which are the conditions based on which the brain processes information in the most efficient and accurate way.
The following 12 ‘brain rules’, as Dr Medina terms them, are all directly related to this performance envelope of the brain and should be kept in mind if we are to fully harness our ‘brain power’:
1 Exercise boosts brain power. Exercise destroys harmful chemicals caused by stress and boosts problem solving, planning and attention capabilities.
2 The human brain evolves. We are designed to never stop learning and exploring as part of our survival instinct.
3 Every brain is wired differently. This is because experiences creates ‘wiring’ in the brain and each person’s experiences are different.
4 We don’t pay attention to boring things. The brain is incapable of multitasking when it comes to paying attentions, and gives preference to patterns and emotions.
5 Short term memory: Repeat to remember. The capacity of memory is initially 30 seconds and we tend to forget things if we don’t repeat the information.
6 Long term memory:Remember to repeat. The more something is the more likely it is to be remembered in the long term.
7 Sleep well, think well. Sleep is powerfully linked with the ability to learn as the brain goes over what we learned during the day while we sleep.
8 Stressed brains don’t learn the same way. Stress changes the way we learn as serve prolonged stress destroys brain cells.
9 Stimulate more of the senses. Our senses are designed to work together and using all our sensory preceptions leads to better remembering.
10 Vision trunmps all other senses. Visuals are far more effective than text or speech.
11 Male and female brains are different. For instance, men favour details.
12 We are powerful and natural explorers. We are inherently curious and one of our best attributes is the ability to learn and explore no matter how old we are.
By Fauzia Kerai Khan. The writer is Chief Consultant, i&b Consulting, Training, e-learning.