12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School
9780979777721
John Medina
Table of Contents
- Exercise. Exercise boosts brain power.
- Survival. The human brain evolved, too.
- Wiring. Every brain is wired differently.
- Attention. We don’t pay attention to boring things.
- Short-term memory. Repeat to remember.
- Long-term memory. Remember to repeat.
- Sleep. Sleep well, think well.
- Stress. Stressed brains don’t learn the same way.
- Sensory integration. Stimulate more of the senses.
- Vision. Vision trumps all other senses.
- Gender. Male and female brains are different.
- Exploration. We are powerful and natural explorers.
Notes
Our brains were built for walking 12 miles a day… Going from four legs to two to walk on the savannah freed up energy to develop a complex brain.
People don’t pay attention to boring things.
Information coming into your brain is immediately split into fragments that are sent to different regions of the cortex for storage… Different Brains Store Different Information In Different Places.
Chronic stress, such as hostility at home, dangerously deregulates a system built only to deal with short-term responses… Men and women respond differently to acute stress.
Humans were not meant to sit.
Our senses evolved to work together – which means that we learn best if we stimulate several senses at once. We learn and remember best through pictures, not through written or spoken words.
The neurons of your brain show vigorous rhythmical activity when you’re asleep – perhaps replaying what you learned that day.
Creative people and analytical people are different – each person should be treated and managed differently.
Women activate the left hemisphere’s amygdala and remember the emotional details. Men use the right amygdala and get the gist.
Takeaways
- Exercise often
- Avoid being bored or boring
- Learn and practice new skills
- Sleep is a priority… afternoon naps included
- Avoid stress-build-up
- Tinker