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www.all-about-psychology.com 
(Article Originally Published in Popular Science 1958)
This article forms part of an initiative to make important, insightful andengaging public domain works freely available. See following links toaccess material that has already been published under this initiative.
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 A similar initiative relating to forensic science publications has also beenlaunched.
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How much energy do you use when you think? At what time of day is your mentalperformance best? Does talking to yourself help your thinking? Are your thoughtsinfluenced by body position? If you have an exam to take, or some problems to solve,how can you let your mind work, without your realizing it, to find the answers?Of all things known in the universe, the human brain is by far, the most complex. As asubject for scientific study it presents infinite intricacies and difficulties. Widedifferences of opinion exist among investigators who are trying to probe its mysteriesto establish basic facts. But recent research provides some new facts about how ourbrains work.
How Much Energy Does Brainwork Take?
 
One of the most surprising recent discoveries is that you apparently use little moreenergy when you think than when you don't. University of Pennsylvania investigatorsbelieve this is so after checking on brain-energy requirements by measuring oxygenconsumption in a group of subjects while they idled, did problems or slept. The finding:virtually no change throughout. The conclusion: Your brain, unlike a machine, usesmost of its energy "merely in keeping its circuits alive and sensitive," and needsinsignificantly little more when you use the circuits.
At What Stage of Problem-Solving Does Your Mind WorkHardest?
Here's another surprise finding: You do more brainwork preparing to solve a problemthan in actually solving it. So believe Michigan State University psychologists whotested 60 volunteer students by ringing a doorbell at various times while they werereading a set of problems, again later as they worked on the answers. There weremany more errors when the distraction came during the reading time than when itcame during the solving period. Actually, ringing the bell during the answer periodspeeded responses, apparently because of increased tension.
 
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Does Your Body Become Tense When Your Mind is Busy?
A Lehigh University psychologist used an electrical device to measure activity inmuscles and found that during severe mental effort - for example, when you're doingarithmetic problems - "tensions seem to flow over the muscular system like the wavesof the sea. One muscle is in a state of rise while another is subsiding, at a very slowrate." Most likely to be most tense: the arm muscles.
Is There A Best Time of The Day For Mental Performance?
Yes, although it may vary with the individual. Scientists at The University of Chicagohave found that fluctuations in mental performance seem to be related to variations inbody temperature. Generally, the temperature tends to be falling when you go tosleep and to be on the rise when you wake, and top mental performance seems tooccur when body temperature is at its peak. But peak temperature time may vary withthe individual which may explain why some people are "early birds," keen first thing inthe morning, while others are late starters. On the average, the peak of bodytemperature and mental acuity, according to the Chicago studies? occurs in the middleof the waking period.
Do You Think Faster Than You Talk?
Much faster, according to studies in the Pennsylvania State University psychologydepartment, which indicate that the average person speaks at a rate of 125 to 169words per minute while thinking four times more rapidly.
Do You Talk To Yourself When You Think?
Probably, yes. The measure of human intelligence, suggests Dr. Albert Goss, Universityof California professor of psychology, may be based on how broadly we can conversewith ourselves.
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