Brain Facts

The human brain has an estimated storage capacity of 2.5 petabytes—enough to hold 3 million hours of television.

Female brains typically reach full maturity in the early-to-mid 20s, while male brains don't fully mature until the mid-to-late 20s, primarily due to differences in prefrontal cortex development.

Caffeine can enhance memory consolidation, helping your brain better retain information learned shortly before consuming it.

The human brain contains roughly 86 billion neurons connected by approximately 100 trillion synaptic connections—far more connections than there are stars in the Milky Way galaxy.

Teenage 'laziness' is largely explained by biology: adolescent brains undergo major rewiring while their circadian rhythms shift up to 2 hours later, making early mornings genuinely harder for teens than adults.

Chewing gum temporarily improves attention and alertness for about 15-20 minutes after you stop chewing.

The elephant brain weighs about 6,000g.

The cat brain weighs about 30g.

While rare, roller coaster rides have been linked to an increased risk of brain injuries, including subdural hematomas (blood clots on the brain's surface) and strokes, primarily due to rapid acceleration, deceleration, and rotational forces.

Brain cells begin to die after just one minute without oxygen. After about 4 to 6 minutes of oxygen deprivation, severe and often irreversible brain damage occurs.

Dehydration is a common but often overlooked cause of daytime fatigue, affecting circulation and oxygen delivery to the brain.

Chocolate triggers the release of dopamine in your brain's reward system and contains compounds like theobromine and phenylethylamine that can improve mood and energy.

After age 30, the brain begins to gradually shrink, losing about 5% of its volume per decade after age 40, with some regions like the hippocampus shrinking as much as 0.84% annually.

Research has shown that allowing chocolate to melt in your mouth produces brain and heart rate activity that is similar to—and even stronger than—that produced with passionate kissing.

You can't tickle yourself.

When someone looks at a new love, the neural circuits that are usually associated with social judgment are suppressed.

The storage capacity of the human brain is estimated at around 2.5 petabytes—equivalent to about 2,500 terabytes or roughly 3 million hours of TV shows.

The human brain uses approximately 20 watts of power—about the same as a dim light bulb—despite being the most complex organ in the known universe.

Quick naps not only improve your alertness, but they also help in decision making, creativity and sensory perception.

The average person's skin weighs about three times as much as their brain.

Out of all the senses, smell is most closely linked to memory.

10 seconds is the amount of time until unconsciousness after the loss of blood supply to the brain.

Starfish don't have brains.

The human brain doesn't stop developing until about 25 years old.