5 reasons why your brain is mind-blowing

Wrap your head around these awesome facts.

By Andrea Silen

Human brains are electrifying.

To prompt your body to perform actions such as walking, brain cells called neurons produce
chemical and electrical signal. The signals are also generated when your brain processes
information about your surroundings.

This organ is like a superhighway for information.

After electrical and chemical signals are produced in your brain, they’re passed from one
neuron to the next like a game of hot potato. The signals zip between brain cells at incredible
speeds, sometimes traveling across the brain at about 260 miles an hour.

The brain is jam-packed.

Your brain is about the size of your fist and weighs on average three pounds. But the organ
holds 400 miles of blood vessels, some 100 billion neurons, and around a trillion glial cells (a
type of cell thought to protect and support neurons).

Your thinker is thoughtful.

The brain is active 24/7. You’re thinking throughout the day, whether you’re awake or
asleep. While the numbers can vary widely, some experts estimate that humans have around
70,000 thoughts a day.

You can change your brain.

Certain activities such as studying a new language, exercising, and learning to juggle can
increase gray matter. This is a tissue in the brain that is thought to help you process
information. Many scientists believe that the more gray matter you have the faster your brain
works.