Facts about the brain.

Facts about Human Brain

Human brain is the most mysterious thing ever known. Various experiments and tests are being performed to understand it well from a long time. God is the biggest engineer. His creations are far beyond our understandings and imaginations. One of those creations is Brain. Let’s have a look at some interesting facts about Human Brain. Feel free to share your views with us via comments below.

Some Stats about Human Brain:

• Weight of Human Brain is 3 pounds.
• If brain doesn’t get air for 4-6 minutes, it will start to die.
• Number of neurons in Brain is 100 million.
• Number of synapses for each neuron in Human brain is 1,000-10,000.
• Brain constitutes 80 % water.

Some Interesting Facts about Human Brain:

Storage capacity of Human Brain is between 3 and 1,000 Terabytes.

Yes, Scientists believe that a normal functioning brain can store 5 times information than Encyclopedia Britannica which is of 70 TB in size.

Human Brain uses 20% of the Oxygen that enters the Bloodstream.

Brain is such a small portion of body that it makes only 2% of body mass; still it uses 20% of oxygen.

Brain is more active at night than day.

This is strange. Even scientists don’t know the exact reason yet. But this is true. This is the reason why solutions of some difficult problems that you couldn’t solve strike you during sleep.

• Number of neurons in brain keeps growing throughout life.
• People with great I.Q have more dreams during night.
• Brain doesn’t have pain receptors. It doesn’t feel pain.

You must have wondered, why you laugh when someone tickles you but you don’t laugh when you tickle yourself. This is due to your smart brain; it knows that you are tickling. So, it doesn’t react.

Have proper lunch for a better IQ.

Various studies in New York concluded that those who have proper and healthy lunch perform 14% better in IQ tests.

You are virtually paralyzed during sleep.

Brain creates a hormone when you sleep that prevents your body to act your dream.

Curious about sleep?

Thirty-six percent of our lives are spent asleep, which means, if you live to 90, you’ll have slept for 32 years. But we don’t appreciate sleep enough. To make the point here are some quotes:

Thomas Edison — “Sleep is a criminal waste of time, inherited from our cave days” — and Margaret Thatcher — “Sleep is for wimps.” Simply put not only do we not appreciate sleep, but we treat it like an illness and an enemy.

Of course this simply shouldn’t be the case. In fact, some areas of the brain are more active during the sleep stage than while the body is awake. But the essential question that we lose sleep over: Why do we sleep? There is no real consensus, but here are three popular answers:

1. Sleep is for restoration, to replenish and repair metabolic processes. Indeed, a whole host of genes are “turned on” only during sleep — genes associated with restoration and metabolic pathways.

2. Sleep is for energy conservation, to save calories. This may seem an intuitive answer except that the difference between sleeping and quietly resting is about 110 calories a night, the equivalent of a hot dog bun. Not a very good upshot for such a complex process.

3. Finally, sleep is for brain processing and memory consolidation. Studies show that if you prevent people from sleeping after a learning task, their ability to learn is basically smashed. And worse, our abilities to come up with novel solutions after a complex task are reduced after sleep deprivation.

The danger of sleep deprivation can’t be stressed enough. For one thing, sleep-deprived people fall asleep involuntarily, taking “microsleeps” they can’t control. Thirty-one percent of drivers will fall asleep while driving at least once in their lifetime. That is: 100,000 accidents a year happen because of tiredness.

For those who want to take control of their sleep habits here are some tips:

1. Decrease your amount of light exposure at least half an hour before you go to bed.

2. Make your room a bedroom a haven for sleep by making it dark and cool.

3. Turn off your mobile phones, computers and anything that will excite the brain.

4. Don’t drink caffeine after lunch.

5. Increase light exposure when you wake up.

Let's also bust some myths:

1. Teenagers are lazy? Nope. Their biological clocks make them sleep and wake later.

2. You need 8 hours of sleep a day? Nope. That’s just an average.

3. Older people need less sleep? Nope. Sleep demands of the age don’t slow down.

4. Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise. Nope. Just wrong, on many levels. It just makes you more smug.

According to  research, genes that have been shown to be important in the generation of sleep, when muted, predispose individuals to mental-health problems. It's suggested that sleep levels could be used as an early warning signals for illnesses like schizophrenia. Research has found that schizophrenia patients stay awake during the night phase, asleep during day, suggesting that sleep and mental illness aren’t simply associated, they are physically linked. Which opens the door for sleep to be used as a new therapeutic target.

How to deliver a solid presentation.

From time to time, we are all faced with the challenge of delivering an effective presentation or communicating with others effectively to get our message across at work.

To deliver an effective presentation, it is important to first understand the communication model and the three components of communication.

The communication model begins with the sender (you). The sender encodes the message, the message goes through your chosen channel (such as a PowerPoint presentation), and the receiver (your audience) will then decode your message and respond with their feedback. There are also three very key elements that are the makeup of effective communication: 10 per cent content, 35 per cent vocal qualities, and 55 per cent body language and facial expressions.

Now that you understand the communication process, here are some tips on delivering an effective presentation:

Know your audience

It is very important to know your audience so that you can strategically relate your presentation topic and method of delivery to your audience. For example, if your audience is a panel of recruiters at a sales company (yes, an interview is probably one of your most important presentations!), you will need to dress professionally and present your work experiences and skills in a professional manner.

Use visuals

Most of us are visual learners, and it can truly make your presentation so much better if you use visuals, such as images, diagrams, charts and videos, to support your presentation and message.

The classic presentation approach

Tell them what you are going to tell them, tell them, and tell them what you just told them.

This is the classic presentation approach that will help keep your presentation smooth and organized. Begin with an agenda, then the body of your presentation content, and finish off with a summary and conclusion.

How to leave your work at the office in the age of the ubiquitous smartphone.

At the end of last year, the number of smartphones used around the world reached a colossal one billion. For businesses, the perks of technology advancements are endless. This is the case most of the time for consumers as well. However, with the world at your fingertips 24/7, it’s easy to feel like you always need to be connected — especially when starting a new job.

S0 how do you leave work at work when it follows you home every day in the form of a mobile device?

Speak up

It’s likely that the person contacting you in the evening or on weekends has no comprehension of how you spend your time outside of work. If there seems to be a common denominator when it comes to who’s seeping into your “you” time, talk to them about it! Simply ask them to hold off on sending work-related emails during non-work hours unless it’s truly urgent. Most people will understand.

Step outside yourself

Take a moment to see how others may feel about your smartphone habits. Whether it’s your friend, parent or child, no one likes the feeling that you’re prioritizing your attention to your device over them. So drop the phone and focus your attention on what really matters in that moment.

Learn to separate the importance of notifications

When you hear your phone go off, you likely go into a thought process that consists of: I wonder who that is? I wonder what it’s about? I wonder if it’s important? I wonder if I should check that? And so on. But not every alert is an urgent matter. Chances are, if it’s something truly earth-shattering, the person trying to reach you will do so by calling.

Let go of the guilt

When you don’t respond within a prompt time frame (for many people, that means immediately), you may feel like you’re slacking. The truth is, unless you’re being paid to be on the clock at all times, you’re allowed to have work-free time.

How to ask for that promotion.

A few months ago, a good friend of mine approached me about an internal job posting within his organization for which he was interested in applying.

He had been a video editor within this sports broadcasting company for four years and definitely needed more responsibility, a new challenge and something to give him renewed excitement about the organization and his field. He was hesitant to apply, as he’d been told that the individuals hiring already had someone in mind for the position and he felt that a fair amount of the job description was out of his skill set, as the job required producing experience. I encouraged him to apply regardless, as it would show upper management that he was looking to make lateral and/or vertical moves within the organization, that he wanted to be given more leadership opportunities and that he was looking to grow within this field.

Ultimately, there was no harm in applying. His superiors wouldn’t even know he was interested in the position if he didn’t apply and likely hadn’t considered him as a possibility for the job — not because he wasn’t qualified or capable, but because he hadn’t voiced any interest until this point. If you don’t ask, you don’t get.

My friend applied for the position and within two days he heard back from the hiring manager for the position. He had an interview three days later and, what do you know? He got the job!

Two weeks later he set off on a month of travelling across Canada filming the fourth season of this station’s signature show. He had new responsibilities, new networking opportunities, and the chance to learn new skills within his field — and he could not have been more pumped to get started! None of this would have happened if he had settled for the status quo and hadn’t voiced his interest in this exciting new opportunity. He Spoke Up!

Think of it this way: it’s more efficient and cost effective to teach a new skill to an eager, existing employee than to hire someone new to fill the gap.

You’ll be surprised to see the opportunities that become available to you by showing this initiative, enthusiasm and dedication in your organization.

Ways to speak up successfully

•    Arrange a meeting with your manager/supervisor to discuss your long-term career vision
•    Talk to your boss about ways for you to get more involved in your organization
•    Apply for internal job postings
•    Request to be put on certain project teams
•    Tell your boss you are looking for more responsibility or that you want to acquire new skills —be specific..

How to confront someone at work.

When someone showcases inappropriate behaviour, especially in a workplace setting, it can create a negative work atmosphere in which other co-workers feel uninterested to do their work and even customers don’t want to deal with that particular business. Whether the need for the confrontation arises in a work or personal setting, here are handy tips on how you should go about confronting that certain someone:

Use your personal power

This is simply the influence that you have on your peers. While we all have positional power, personal power is something we develop through rapport. If you are to confront someone, it can make the process a lot easier if you have a good working relationship and mutual understanding with that person.

What to confront

If you are confronted by someone, you will probably take it personally. So when you are confronting, don’t point your finger at the individual, but rather talk about how the way they are behaving needs to change. Remember the saying: “It’s not what you’re saying, but how you’re saying it.”

Be objective

Don’t let your emotions get in the way — stay both morally and emotionally objective.

Stay focused on the issue at hand

Always remain focused on the initial issue, and confront tihe person’s behaviour.

Consistency

Try to be consistent in your approach and in what you do and say.

Laugh it up

It can be a very good idea to employ humour.

This shows you are human and that you can make light of the situation.

It’s also a good way of cutting through the emotional tension.

Be pre-emptive

Always attempt to resolve problems before they actually occur or deal with it early on to prevent any escalations. 

Life offers 3 choices.