Dr. Supriya

The human brain is the most complex and least understood part of the human anatomy. There may be a lot we don’t know, but here are a few interesting facts that we’ve got covered.

Nerve impulses to and from the brain travel as fast as 170 miles per hour. Ever wonder how you can react so fast to things around you or why that stubbed toe hurts right away? it’s due to the super-speedy movement of nerve impulses from your brain to the rest of your body and vice versa, bringing reactions at the speed of a high powered luxury sports car.

The brain operates on the same amount of power as 10-watt light bulb. The cartoon image of a light bulb over your head when a great thought occurs isn’t too far off the mark. Your brain generates as much energy as a small light bulb even when you’re sleeping.

The human brain cell can hold 5 times as much information as the encyclopedia britannica. Or any other encyclopedia for that matter. Scientists have yet to settle on a definitive amount, but the storage capacity of the brain in electronic terms is thought to be between 3 or even 1, 000 terabytes. The national archives of britain, containing over 900 years of history, only takes up 70 terabytes, making your brain’s memory power pretty darn impressive.

Your brain uses 20% of the oxygen that enters your bloodstream. The brain only makes up about 2% of our body mass, yet consumes more oxygen than any other organ in the body, making it extremely susceptible to damage related to oxygen deprivation. So breathe deep to keep your brain happy and swimming in oxygenated cells.

The brain is much more active at night than during the day. Logically, you would think that all the moving around, complicated calculations and tasks and general interaction we do on a daily basis during our working hours would take a lot more brain power than, say, lying in bed. Turns out, the opposite is true. When you turn off your brain turns on. Scientists don’t yet know why this is but you can thank the hard work of your brain while you sleep for all those pleasant dreams.

Scientists say the higher your i. q. The more you dream. While this may be true, don’t take it as a sign you’re mentally lacking if you can’t recall your dreams. Most of us don’t remember many of our dreams and the average length of most dreams is only 2-3 seconds–barely long enough to register.

Neurons continue to grow throughout human life. For years scientists and doctors thought that brain and neural tissue couldn’t grow or regenerate. While it doesn’t act in the same manner as tissues in many other parts of the body, neurons can and do grow throughout your life, adding a whole new dimension to the study of the brain and the illnesses that affect it.

Information travels at different speeds within different types of neurons. Not all neurons are the same. There are a few different types within the body and transmission along these different kinds can be as slow as 0.5 meters/sec or as fast as 120 meters/sec.

The brain itself cannot feel pain. While the brain might be the pain center when you cut your finger or burn yourself, the brain itself does not have pain receptors and cannot feel pain. That doesn’t mean your head can’t hurt. The brain is surrounded by loads of tissues, nerves and blood vessels that are plenty receptive to pain and can give you a pounding headache.

80% of the brain is water. Your brain isn’t the firm, gray mass you’ve seen on tv. Living brain tissue is a squishy, pink and jelly-like organ thanks to the loads of blood and high water content of the tissue. So the next time you’re feeling dehydrated get a drink to keep your brain hydrated.

Health problems caused by not drinking enough water

Our body is made up of almost 70% water and while we can live without food for a few days at least, it is important to replenish your water needs every day. If you miss drinking enough water even for a day, you will notice a change. And the ill effects of not drinking enough water can be severe and should not be taken lightly. 

You might have to face these 5 health problems if you are not drinking enough water:

1. Constipation: If your body is not getting enough water, it will not be able to digest well because our bodies need right amount of liquid to process the foods we eat. When the stomach is constipated, digestive juices are secreted in lesser quantity, thus leading to other digestive disorders.
2. Weight gain: Many a times, we eat or feel hungry just a while after eating. This is not really hunger and actually means that the body needs water. A dehydrated body often sends misleading signals which is misinterpreted as hunger and we end up gaining unnecessary weight.
3. Cholesterol and changes in blood pressure: When we don't drink enough water, the water reserve in the body gets used up resulting in there not being enough for the capillaries, veins and arteries. This results in blood pressure going high and/or low. Similarly, the cells of the body get dehydrated and in an attempt to stop this, the body starts producing cholesterol more than what's required.
4. Dryness of the skin and other problems: Apart from through urine, our body also loses water in the form of sweat. This needs to be replenished or the skin starts becoming dry, lips are chapped and we even experience an increase in hair fall. Not drinking enough water also leads to premature aging and graying.
5. Infections: It is important to urinate frequently because through urine, our body releases toxins which are not needed for the body. If you don't drink enough water, you won't urinate enough and might end up with problems like UTI and cystitis.

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