Last Updated on September 2, 2024
Table of Contents
The brain is unarguably the most mysterious and sophisticated organ of the human body.
Scientists have been trying to figure out how the brain functions for years. Yet despite the numerous findings on the organ’s physiology and psychology, there always seems to be a lot more to uncover.
In this article, we unveil the 150 most fascinating facts about the brain and human behavior. Read on and you’ll possibly understand the underlying forces that often drive your actions.
Mind-blowing Facts about the Brain’s Anatomy
1. The brain is made up of billions of neurons.
2. The brain consists of trillions of synapses.
3. A piece of brain tissue the size of a grain of sand contains 100,000 neurons and 1 billion synapses.
4. 60% of the human brain is fat.
5. Babies have big heads to hold rapidly growing brains. A 2-year-old’s brain is 80% of adult size.
6. Humans have more brain cells at the age of two than at any other time of their lives.
7. Neurons develop at the rate of 250,000 neurons per minute during early pregnancy.
8. The brain is 73% water. It takes only 2% dehydration to affect your attention, memory, and other cognitive skills.
9. The brain isn’t fully formed until age 25.
10. The brain takes the longest of any organ to develop and goes through more changes than any other organ.
11. The human brain weighs 3 pounds.
12. The smallest known normal brain belonged to a woman who died in 1977. Her brain weighed just 2.41 pounds.
13. The spinal cord is the main source of communication between the body and the brain.
14. The spinal cord stops growing at 4 years old.
Mind-blowing Facts about the Brain’s Physiology
15. About 750ml of blood pumps through your brain every minute.
16. An average person’s mind wanders 30% of his or her time awake.
17. Brain information moves anywhere between 1 mph and an impressive 268 miles per hour.
18. Brain information travels up to an impressive 268 miles per hour.
19. Eyeballs are a direct physical extension of the brain.
20. If brain cells were replaced, like skin or liver cells, scientists hypothesize we would lose our memories.
21. If you want to memorize something, it is better to draw it rather than writing it down.
22. If your brain loses blood for 8 to 10 seconds, you will lose consciousness.
23. Reading aloud and talking often to a young child promotes brain development.
24. Sarcasm is a sign of a healthy brain.
25. The average number of thoughts that humans are believed to experience each day is 70,000.
26. The brain can survive up to 4 minutes without oxygen.
27. The brain usually values instant over delayed gratification.
28. The brain will distort reality in order to reduce pain.
29. The brain will justify anything if there is enough incentive to do so.
30. The brain’s storage capacity is considered virtually unlimited.
31. The human attention span is shorter than a goldfish.
32. The human brain can generate about 23 watts of power (enough to power a light bulb).
33. The idea that there are “right brain” and “left brain” people is a myth.
34. There are more than 100,000 chemical reactions happening in the human brain every second.
35. You can’t tickle yourself because your brain distinguished between unexpected external touch and your own touch.
36. You don’t use 10% of your brain; you actually use all of it.
37. Your brain uses 20% of the total oxygen in your body and 20% of the blood circulating in your body.
Mind-blowing Psychology Facts about Love and Relationships
38. 2 in 5 women suffer from anuptaphobia, the fear of never finding love.
39. Almost half of all married couples 75 and older still have sex on a regular basis.
40. Cuddling with someone you love triggers the brain to release the stress-fighting chemical oxytocin.
41. Different scents incite different levels of attraction.
42. Eye pupils will rise to an angle of 45 degrees to see someone we love deeply.
43. Girls usually do not prefer to listen anything bad against their favorite person or people.
44. Having a vibrant social life is important for your mental and physical health.
45. Hugging a woman for 20 seconds improves her self-confidence and happiness.
46. Humor is associated with honesty and smartness, which is why women are more attracted to men who have a good sense of humor.
47. If someone wants to know more about you and how you are while he or she is busy, that person has already fallen for you.
48. If you have a crush on someone, there is an 80% chance that that person has a crush on you as well.
49. Kissing helps us choose who we will love.
50. Less than a second after seeing someone we love, the brain releases ‘feel-good’ chemicals like oxytocin and dopamine.
51. Long distance relationships work better when partners communicate regularly and freely about their intimate feelings for each other.
52. Love lasts longer when both partners are actively working toward self-fulfillment.
53. Men and women with higher IQ have a hard time finding a mate.
54. People get married because they feel “in love” even if there isn’t much practical compatibility.
55. People of the same mentality get attracted faster and travel all through life together.
56. People tend to value emotional intelligence over intelligence in a potential partner.
57. People who blush easily are great lovers.
58. People tend to blink more when they are having a conversation with someone that they are interested in.
59. Seeing a picture of someone you care about can lower stress, relieve pain, and speed up the healing of wounds.
60. Spending money on your loved ones will give you more satisfaction than spending money on yourself.
61. The tone of a woman’s voice naturally increases when she’s flirting.
62. The very last person that comes to your mind before you go to bed will be the reason for your happiness or pain.
63. Using a woman’s name more frequently in a conversation makes her fall in love with you.
64. When she doesn’t start a conversation it doesn’t mean she is ignoring you or not interested in you, it could just mean she doesn’t want to bother you.
65. When you are ignored by someone you strongly care about, the reaction in your brain is similar to physical pain.
66. Within four minutes of your time, you decide who your friend should be. It’s a genetic factor.
67. Women like to think more about what they love the entire day.
68. Women with older fathers are often attracted to older men.
Mind-blowing Psychology Facts about (Mental) Health
69. Adequate sleep and a stress-free life improves the brain’s performance and results in a better personality.
70. Children who grow up in a stressful environment with strict parents are more likely to develop the habit of overthinking as adults.
71. Excessive stress has shown to “alter brain cells, brain structure, and brain function.
72. Girls who mature early are likely to be delinquent and emotionally aggressive as they get older.
73. Gossip triggers chemicals in the brain that makes you live longer and become happier.
74. Individuals who exercise at least 1-2 times per week are less likely to suffer depression or anxiety.
75. Just one five-minute episode of extreme anger can weaken the immune system for 4-5 hours.
76. Men and women’s brains react differently to pain.
77. One can smell fear. Pheromone is released in sweat when a person is afraid. Other people can smell it, even if you are unaware of it.
78. Optimists don’t always cope well with stress.
79. People who are distracted easily are more creative.
80. People who often help others are likely to be happier often and less likely to get depressed as and when they get older.
81. People who spend more time in the sun are happier than those who don’t.
82. Placebos sometimes offer as much relief as actual treatments.
83. Posting a calorie chart in fast food restaurants may lead people to choose less healthy foods.
84. Shy people are smarter and more trustworthy.
85. Singing reduces the feeling of depression.
86. Smiling excessively is a sign of too much emotional pain.
87. Smiling may make you feel happier.
88. Speaking and encouraging yourself in front of a mirror will make you mentally stronger.
89. Stress doesn’t cause ulcers (but it might worsen it).
90. There are no pain receptors in the brain, so the brain can feel no pain.
91. Those who worry and overthink tend to have higher verbal intelligence, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills.
92. Waking up just one hour earlier could reduce a person’s risk of major depression by 23%.
Funny Mind-blowing Psychology Facts
93. 70% of people are unable to tap their thumb knuckle against their lower teeth with their eyes closed 16 times without getting dizzy.
94. 97% of people write down their own names when given a new pen.
95. Only good liars are able to detect other liars all of the time.
96. People who are strong mentally, have more nightmares than weaker people.
97. People who can’t cry no matter how hard they try are weak.
98. People who give the most advice are the ones with the most problems.
99. People who speak less and fast keep a lot of secrets.
100. Sexual frustration causes you to tear the paper off drink bottles.
101. Studies show that every time you sneeze, you die for a second.
102. The length of your tongue has a lot to say about your sexuality.
103. The smarter a person is, the faster he thinks and the sloppier his handwriting is.
104. To stop yourself from crying, stop blinking and relax your jaw.
105. When someone is crying and the first teardrop is from the right eye, it is a cry of happiness.
Other Mind-blowing Psychology Facts
106. A lower-pitched voice is associated with individuals who are more dominant, extrovert, and higher in socio-sexuality.
107. A person’s personality depends on how they behave with friends or relations outside them.
108. Eliminating something negative often works better than punishment as a disciplinary measure.
109. Every single creature has the potential to victimize others or other living creatures.
110. Firstborn children are often described as “bossy” or “responsible,” while last-born children are sometimes described as “irresponsible” and “impulsive.”
111. For the first 3 seconds after waking up from sleep, you won’t be able to remember anything.
112. Getting paid for doing something you like may make you less creative.
113. Having a plan B would only make plan A less likely to work.
114. Humans are terribly impatient, always feeling the need to do something.
115. Humans have a deep understanding of fairness and are biased toward repaying favors and attitudes.
116. If we can’t come to a decision, we tend to just take the default option and do nothing.
117. Lonely people are likely to take long hot baths to replace their lack of social circle and emotions.
118. Men and women dream differently. Women are more prone to having scary dreams.
119. More than 50% of the U.S. population believes in psychic phenomena.
120. Most “identical twins” are not “identical.”
121. Not everyone dreams in colors.
122. Parents who view failure as a negative event tend to have kids who are more likely to believe in intelligence is fixed and cannot be increased.
123. People are influenced the most by the most recent information rather than the best information.
124. People are more eager to agree with something when they’re given a reason for it.
125. People are more honest when physically tired. This is why most people confess things during late-night conversations.
126. People are naturally happier when they are kept busy.
127. People are very susceptible to the influence of rewards.
128. People love to talk even if they don’t have anything meaningful to say.
129. People note things that are close to their theory while redefining contradictions or distorting contradictions to suit them.
130. People prefer to remain consistent with their past actions, even if those actions are not in line with their current best interests.
131. People tend to experience déjà vu about a conversation or a dream.
132. People tend to follow the crowd in their decisions by default, even if their real thought is that it is wrong.
133. People tend to overestimate their own abilities and their future outlook.
134. People tend to over-weight initial information, using it as a subconscious reference for future decisions.
135. People tend to underestimate the impact of small differences.
136. People who speak 2 languages, change their personality unconsciously when they switch languages.
137. Reverse psychology works well on a resistant individual, while direct requests work best for compliant ones.
138. The food prepared by somebody else tastes better than that prepared by us.
139. The way you hold your fist reveals your internal and external personality.
140. Traveling along with positive people keeps you happy and strong.
141. We automatically second-guess ourselves when others disagree.
142. We feel a strong desire for things that we like and have been taken away from us.
143. We forget 90% of our dreams.
144. We only believe what we see and are usually blind to abstract yet still present information.
145. We tend to associate our judgment about things with how they make us feel rather than their objective value.
146. We tend to automatically trust and agree with people that we like and are attracted to.
147. We tend to believe people of authority by default without ever questioning the validity of that authority.
148. We tend to come up with reasons as to why things happen after they have already happened in order to fit the outcome.
149. We typically believe what we hear by default before we question it later on.
150. Your dreams are more meaningful than your conscious thoughts.
Final Word
We hope the above psychology facts offered you some insights into human behavior.
As a parting shot, remember to optimize your brain’s performance by making healthy lifestyle choices. These include mindful dieting, staying hydrated, following a robust workout routine, among other interventions.
Posted by:Igor Ovsyannnykov
Igor is an SEO specialist, designer, photographer, writer and music producer. He believes that knowledge can change the world and be used to inspire and empower young people to build the life of their dreams.When he is not writing in his favorite coffee shop, Igor spends most of his time reading books, taking photos, producing house music, and learning about cinematography. He is a sucker for good coffee, Indian food, and video games.
