Let’s talk about your brain!
Fun facts
First some fun facts (that you may or may not know) about your brain:
Brain information speed
Your brain is like the most complex computer in the world. Brain information travels up to an impressive 268 miles per hour. This is faster than Formula 1 race cars which top out at 240 mph. That’s roughly 4.4 times the speed of the cheetah, the fastest animal on the planet. And about 89,333 times the speed of a sloth.
Think about that!
Bits per second
The brain can process 50 bits per second. However the body sends over 11 million bits of information to the brain. that mean that there is tremendous compression that happens subconsciously. Which means that you got a tone of zip files somewhere in the brain.
Brains weigh
The brain is about 3 pounds, that’s about 8.3 iPhone 12 or 5.64 Big Macs. That’s a lot of Macdonald.
Amount of neurons
A piece of brain tissue the size of a grain of sand contains 100,000 neurons and 1 billion synapses.
1 billion, That’s about 12 times more than the numbers of tamagotchi sold from 1996 to 2017. Who still buys tamagotchis in the 21st century?
Brain maturity
It isn’t until about the age of 25 that the human brain reaches full maturity. So cut your cousin Jeremy some slacks, he’s not fully formed yet.
It’s electric
Your brain generates about 12-25 watts of electricity. This is enough to power a low-wattage LED light. That’s enough watts to charge your cell phone. If someone creates a charger capable of using the brain to charge them, I’ll invest! Take my money!
The brain’s secret glitch
Now no matter how smart you are, there is one thing the brain can’t do! Make coffee? Well yes but… Fly?…I guess … Juggle angry hyenas? Stop it Luca! As I was saying, there is one fondamental thing the brain can’t do. And that is to tell the difference between reality and imagination! What? Are you saying our brains are the finest piece of technology, a wonder that baffles scientists and still very mysterious to experts and yet it can’t tell the difference between truth and reality? Yep!
When I first heard that I was like “Well I know what’s real and what’s fake. Harry Potter fake. Star Wars real but in a galaxy far far away. See? “
But I am not talking about fiction or lies, I am talking about the internal perception and effects on the body and brain.
Movement
The brain can’t tell the difference between real or imagined movement. Pfff so dumb!
The parts of the brain that are activated by imagining an activity or actually physically doing it are the same.
Athletes
That’s why athletes practice their race before the actual race. The mental rehearsals help them fine tune their abilities to achieve their goals and there are tremendous, TREMENDOUS, results. Their ability to perform and to be flexible in case of an unexpected event are greatly enhanced.
Piano
Not only that but there was a study made by Harvard neuroscientists that showed that physical or mental practice of the piano had the same effect. Right, tell that to Mozart.
They taught a simple piano Exercice to two groups. The first one had to practice it everyday on the piano, the second group had to practice daily as well but in their mind using their imagination. The result is incredible. Both group show the same set of skills.
Kindness
Study finds that interactions with a pet can increase oxytocin, beta-endorphin and dopamine levels as well as reduce cortisol levels. these chemicals make you feel happier and more relaxed.
No wonder cat videos are so popular? That’s right Luca, they do have a similar effect to actually petting a cat!
Stress
If you think of a negative or stressful situation, the effect in your brain and body will be the same as if it was actually happening to you right now. So stop planning what you’ll do in case of a zombie apocalypse? I already wrote down my 48 steps, got it laminated and stored in safe box under my bed with a baseball bat, so I don’t have to think about it anymore.
Fight or flight
In stress situations the brain turns on it’s fight-or-flight mode. /survival mode/ the brain produces hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol. It gets you ready to fight or escape a situation, you breath gets shorter, you get nervous and excited. Great if you are actually attacked by a ground of extremely bloodthirsty yet very attractive Vikings. But in your daily life, not so much. But the brain will still react the same way. Even if you worry about asking your boss for a raise. Same reaction on the body.
Cortisol
Too much cortisol will suppress the immune system, increase blood pressure and sugar, decrease libido, produce acne, contribute to obesity and disease. Okay that’s not helping my anxiety…
So if anxious thoughts suppresses the immune system and make you more prone to sickness, would positive and calming calm you, help the immune system and potentially heal you? /I don’t know doctor, you tell me. Yes, the short answer is Ja, si, hai, oui, da.
Immune system
The placebo effect
For a long time, The placebo effect was considered as a failure. “I am twelve, I have never heard of placebo effect. Is it some kind of drench indie rock band from the early 2000’s?”
Okay so here’s a refresher:
The placebo is described as a substance or treatment which is designed to have no therapeutic value.
When pharmaceutical companies try their new drugs, they give the real medicine to a group of people and a fake, sugar pill, to the second. If the results are the same between the two groups, than the drug is considered a fail.
However, recently scientist have looked at the placebo not as a fail but as a success.
Now what is really interesting is that in the placebo group of 1 in 3 people experience effects. That’s 33% of people get some kind of improvement! That shows how powerful the mind is. If you truly believe in the benefits of a drug, you can actually get better! In other words, the brain inherently know what the body needs to get better.
Learn more about the placebo with Dr Joe Dispenza’s You are the placebo.
Another fun one!
The nocebo effect
Now for everyone else who hasn’t heard that word yet, an individual is convinced that standard treatment will not work, and that alternative therapies will work. This decreases the likelihood standard treatment will work.
WHAAAAT?? For real though!
Aging
Another incredible study finds that positive thinking may actually be THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH. How is that? I’m glad you asked… computer… Yep no one asked, I am just talking to my computer, alone in my room… alone… positive thinking, positive thinkiiiing!
In 1981 Harvard professor Ellen Langer sent tel groups of men in their seventies and eighties to a retreat in a Monastery. The first group had to pretend they were 22 years younger, there were listening to music from back in the days, watched old movies, and just interacted as if younger. The s second group was in the same environment but just had to reminisce of the old days. The men had to go through all sorts of physical and intel risk tests before and after. After just one week, the two groups showed improvement in their strength and flexibility. Height, weight, gait, posture, hearing, vision—even their performance on intelligence tests had improved. However the group who had to pretend to be 22 years younger showed much improvement.
So who are you pretending to be?
And now what?
What can we do with this information?
If the brain can’t tell the difference you can be anything or anyone. The saying Fake it until you make it makes more sense now. Fake news aren’t so bad…. well bad analogy, fake news are bad. You know what I’m trying to say.
So now if we wait for the house to feel safe, the beautiful lady to feel loved, the money to feel free, you may wait forever. Not only that, when we get what we want we are happy for only a short period of time before wanting something else, something bigger, “better, faster, stronger”!
Why don’t we instead teach the brain to feel that way without having these things? And if the concept of the law of attraction is true, then we might as well attract these things in our lives. “Double score!” The worst thing that can happen is feeling happier and healthier (remember the cortisol levels?)
Okay so now here’s what you can do with that information.
Ask yourself
How would I feel if I had the perfect home, the perfect partner, the perfect body and the perfect job. How does it feel to be free, to be loved, to be rich? How would you talk about yourself ? How do you talk to yourself. Really imagine it and feel it. How would you walk, how would you live?
Now look at your answers and here’s what you can do:
–put them on post it. “I’m hot as hell” so that you can read it and be reminded of the feelings. Use that imagination to trick your brain into believing you have all that you need.
–record affirmations as your best friend when he’s drunk “I’m proud of you man, I really love you man” and listen to it every day when you are going to work and really feel their effects.
–put an alarm on your phone to three times a day with a reminder of how awesome you feel
Use the words that pumps you up!
1. Be aware of how you move
–Move, walk, talk as if you already had all your dreams come true. Pro tip, listen to music that’s Pumps you up and so your groceries as if you were that OJ/ oranges juice/
There is a German study that found that putting a pen in your mouth, forcing a slight smile, people started feeling happier.
And what about the power poses: if you cross your arms or put your hands on your hips, you will feel different. And the way people see you will change. Close vs open!
Be aware of how you move. Because Taking control over your posture can improve your mood.
2. Be aware of how you think
-When someone sneezes next to me I used to think “oh no,I’m gonna catch that. Is it corona? I can’t breath, I gonna die”
But the truth is the body fights viruses all the time. The body is much stronger than we think. Since I started being aware of these thoughts and then replace them with “I’m like Mario after he ate that star. I don’t get sick anymore. But we are still living during a pandemic, so make sure you follow the health regulations.
3. Mediation
Add meditation to your daily routine to reduce cortisol.
Since I started mediating daily I have completely changed. Every morning I relax and focus on nourishing feelings of freedom, abundance And gratitude. There s this part in my daily meditation that asks “how does it feels to have a genius mind and have quicksilver thoughts”. At first I didn’t realize but since I started this meditation. My perspective of money has completely changed and now I keep finding new opportunities.
Check out the meditations on my website or on YouTube.
4. Learn
Just learn more about your mind to get more tools. Link ka below to some of my favorite books on the subject. If you like to listen to them, Get two free books with audible with this link.
5. When on social media
If you are in the habit of perusing the social media platforms, unfollow the people who make you feel bad about yourself and start watching pet or baby videos. Having a pet helps a lot with anxiety and depression, but study finds that even just watching videos help raise your oxytocin levels.
Conclusion
Add these activities in your daily life and really do them, these practices are as important as showering or brushing your teeth, they keep your mind clean and away from mental bacteria’s!
Luca Nicora 