12 Brain Rules By John Medina| How Brain Rules Affect Us?

Brain Rules By John Medina is a world-famous Newyork Time bestseller book. 

Brain Rules By John Medina exhorts you to know brain science to understand yourself and others. 

It reveals the secrets of the mind to live an advantageous and progressive life. 

John Medina explains in the “12 Brain Rules Principles” how your brain evolved and developed over time. 

He defines every brain as wired uniquely. So every brain is different from other brains. 

Hence, every human holding a brain is different from other human beings.

Your brain is different from others. You are different from others. You are born to do different things. You are unique.

But when you fail to recognize your uniqueness and do things as others do you become their photocopies.

When you become a Xerox copy of somebody, you cancel your uniqueness and become unoriginal.

[Also Read: You Are A Born Specialist, Don’t Become Ordinary]

Observe closely you will notice many people roaming around being other people’s photocopies.    

The book “Brain Rules by John Medina” proves that you are at a big disadvantage in your schools, colleges, businesses, organizations, homes, etc if you don’t understand your brain or these 12 brain rules.

Brain Rules By John Medina explains the cognitive science in your behaviour. 

It further clarifies why you or any other person behaves in a particular way.

Who Is John Medina?

Who Is John Medina?

• John Medina is an American developmental molecular biologist. 
• He is currently a professor of Bioengineering at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Washington, America.
• His area of interest and research is “The isolation and characterization of genes involved in human brain development and the genetics of psychiatric disorders.”
• He won the Outstanding Faculty of the Year, National Teacher of the Year, and Student Association Teacher of the Year awards at the College of Engineering at the University of Washington. 
• He is the leading scientist and brain behind many biotechnology and pharmaceutical researches. 
• He has written many books on the development of the brain and how a human being can understand himself and improve his life. 
• His books are in the New York Times Best Seller list. 
• His most famous works are- 
• Brain Rules (New York Times Bestseller)
• Brain Rules for Baby
• Brain Rules for Aging Well
• Brain Rules for Work
• Attack of the Teenage Brain: Understanding and Supporting the Weird and Wonderful Adolescent Learner
• The Genetic Inferno
• The Clock of Ages

12 Brain Rules Book Pdf Free Download

Brain Rules By John Medina- Relevance In Our Life

Many times we think, why that particular student always holds the first rank or why he is way ahead in business or why she is the top practitioner or why the same actions produce different results for different people.

There are so many things we want to comprehend but fail to get a proper understanding of them.

You notice in life-

• Fit people perform better.
• Exercise of any kind improves cognition.
•  Learning new things brings more opportunities in life.
• Memories bring tears and smiles.
• Seeking peace is the ultimate goal of any achievement.
• Vision is the most powerful among the senses.
• Stress affects behaviour. 

[Also Read: How To Be Happy In Life]

12 Brain Rules By John Medina explains the philosophy behind these results of life. 

Let’s begin the journey to know how our brains really work. 

How can we maximize the chances of our success by applying the 12 Brain Rules?

12 Brain Rules List

There are 12 Brain Rules. 

Brain Rule 1- EXERCISE- Exercise boosts brain power.

Brain Rule 2- SURVIVAL- The human brain evolved, too.

Brain Rule 3- WIRING- Every brain is wired differently.

Brain Rule 4- ATTENTION- We don’t pay attention to boring things.

Brain Rule 5- SHORT TERM MEMORY- Repeat to remember.

Brain Rule 6- LONG TERM MEMORY- Remember to repeat.

Brain Rule 7- SLEEP- Sleep well, think well.

Brain Rule 8- STRESS- Stressed brains do not learn the same way as non-stressed brains.

Brain Rule 9- SENSORY INTEGRATION- Stimulate more of the senses at the same time.

Brain Rule 10-VISION- Vision trumps all other senses.

Brain Rule 11-GENDER- Male and female brains are different.

Brain Rule 12-EXPLORATION- We are powerful and natural explorers.

How Brain Rules By John Medina Explain Human Behaviour?

These 12 Brain Rules detail how the human mind works.

These rules explain the behavioural pattern of any human being.

These 12 brain rules tell about physical & mental state, stress management, brain power, the difference in the thought process of men and women, sensory perceptions, exploration, etc.

Let’s understand the 12 Brain Rules by John Medina to apply them in life to become a highly successful person.

Brain Rule 1- Brain Rule 1- EXERCISE- Exercise boosts brain power.

1. You have witnessed in your daily experience that those people who exercise daily are more energetic and healthy. Do you know why and how their metabolism and performance are better?
2. Research is conducted to verify how exercises help our mind and body. Every research proved that exercises and physical workouts improve our mental and physical health.
3. John Medina says there is a strong reason behind it. For thousands of years, this human brain lived with a body accustomed to travelling 12 miles (19 kilometres) every day. Our ancestors used to travel a lot for food and shelter. Different weather conditions and food scarcity forced them to move from place to place.
4. He further mentions walking and aerobic exercises increase the blood flow in the brain which brings glucose to the brain for energy and oxygen to soak up the toxic electrons that are left over. It stimulates the protein to connect neurons. This way exercise keeps on detoxifying our brain. 
5. Our brain and body are connected. The healthier the brain the healthier the body.

[Also Read: To understand Rule No.1 Better- Spark by- John Ratey (Book Summary)]

Brain Rule 2- SURVIVAL- The human brain evolved, too.

1. This rule states that today’s human is the smartest human who ever existed on the face of the earth. The brain evolved to this excellence in thousand years of evolutionary processes. 
2. Earlier we had a lizard brain which was used only to activate the basic body functions, like sleep, eating, moving and breathing. It was not designed to do any complex work. 
3. With time Amygdala is added to our brain. It is a part of the larger network in our brain called the Limbic System. An example of this kind of brain is a cat. This Amygdala helps us fight dangers, reproduce, manage food, etc. For our survival Amygdala is important.
4. After many years another thing added to the functioning of the brain- CORTEX. It can deeply connect with every part of the brain and give us skills like speaking, learning, memorizing, analyzing, etc.
5. John Medina says that this brain development happened when humans came to Savannah. When we started walking on our two legs from four and thus saving energy to develop this human complex brain.
6. The cortex is the part of a powerful human brain. It gives humans one unique ability. The ability to symbolic reasoning. 
7. Symbolic Reasoning– It is a unique human ability to perceive one thing as another. It connects human beings and makes them understand each other’s intentions and motivations. Symbolic reasoning develops our coordination ability with a group and within a group.  
8. We can convert a stick into a weapon or a chicken into a roasted chicken only because of our symbolic reasoning ability. We can see one thing and perceive it to use in different forms. This is a unique human trait which no other creature possesses. 

Brain Rule 3- WIRING- Every brain is wired differently.

1. John Medina says no two brains are similar. Every brain is wired differently. Their wiring patterns are different. Your brain rewires with every learning and experience. Your particular physical activities rewire your brains accordingly.
2. In 1994 Michael Jordan decided to play baseball. He was phenomenal in basketball. The world considered him among the best athletes in the world. But he was a dud in baseball. 
3. It was a puzzle for many people that a super basketball athlete was a super flop in baseball. Brain Rule No. 3 explains it. The wiring of your brain takes different shapes in different activities. So if you are doing badly in one field doesn’t mean you are bad at everything else and vice versa.
4. No two people’s brain stores information in the same place and in the same way.  
5. You are born unique. Nobody can think like you and behave like you unless they become your copy. Your IQ level is no true representation of your intelligence. You can be brilliant in your uniqueness with a low IQ.  

Brain Rule 4- ATTENTION- We don’t pay attention to boring things.

1. John Medina says our mind is not designed to pay attention to boring things. We can’t concentrate or focus on something which doesn’t attract us.
2. The mind does not focus on many issues at a time. We are not created for multitasking. 
3. If we multitask, we don’t do justice to everything. Our performance goes down.
4. Our mind is better accustomed to understanding patterns of things and derive meanings from them than recording details of every event.
5. Our brain learns and remembers those things easily which gives us emotional arousal. 
6. Marketers and advertisers use this brain rule tactically to create marketing and advertising campaigns. Emotional campaigns leave an impact on audiences. They remember the message longer. Thus chances are high to respond to those marketing and advertising campaigns.
7. Since we don’t pay attention to boring things, we always prefer interesting things.

Brain Rule 5- SHORT TERM MEMORY- Repeat to remember.

1. This brain rule is to strengthen our memory. Our brain processes information in four stages- encoding, storing, retrieving, and forgetting. 
2. Any information is immediately broken into fragments and sent to various regions of the cortex for storage.
3. The more deeply and elaborately we encode a memory the stronger and longer it stays in mind.
4. We can recall our memory in the same environment where we have learnt it. For example, if students want to remember everything in the examination hall then they have to design their reading room like an examination hall.

Brain Rule 6- LONG TERM MEMORY- Remember to repeat.

1. This rule says we forget most of the information in the initial few seconds. We only remember those pieces of information which passes the initial phase and we attach them with some events.  
2. John Medina says if we want to remember things for long and want to strengthen our long-term memory, we have to repeat things in timed intervals.
3. The mechanism behind the remembrance in the long term is the two-way communication between Hippocampus & Cortex. Gradually memory is fixed in the cortex.  
4. Our brain mixes the new information with the already stored old information and stores them as one piece of information.
5. The way to make long-term memory more reliable is to incorporate new information gradually and repeat it in timed intervals.

Brain Rule 7- SLEEP- Sleep well, think well.

1. John Medina says sleep is a biological and mental need of any human. Sleep improves our overall mental and physical functions.
2. Brain rule suggests that cells and chemicals are in continuous tension to make you asleep or awake. 
3. Researches reveal when we are asleep then neurons recall the current information rhythmically. This way we remember and forget useful and useless information.
4. People differ in how much sleep they require but one fact is universal, afternoon sleep improves our performance. 
5. NASA has researched “afternoon sleep” and found it very helpful in enhancing employee performance. They found that if employees get 26 minutes of nap in the daytime during work, their performance increases by 34%. It is a huge booster.
6. This increase in performance is because when we sleep our neurons recall information in a rhythmic way. This way we become clear with every message and there is no mental confusion and thus no stress. 
7. Loss of sleep disturbs our many functions including thinking, metabolism, mood, memory, skills, reasoning, etc. Proper sleep is a boon for us. It is a medicine for many ailments. 

Brain Rule 8- STRESS- Stressed brains do not learn the same way as non-stressed brains.

1. John Medina in his book Brain Rules states that stress challenges our defence mechanism system. 
2. When we are under stress two chemicals are released from our body Cortisol and Adrenaline. 
3. Our body releases these chemicals to fight with an immediate danger. For example, when we feel any fear or threat, these chemicals help us decide to fight the threat or flight the place. These chemicals Cortisol and Adrenaline are released to protect us. 
4.  But under chronic stress, these chemicals behave differently. Adrenaline creates scars in our blood vessels that can cause a heart attack or stroke. Cortisol damages the cells of the hippocampus, crippling our ability to learn and remember.
5. When we think the situation is not in our control we feel helpless and tense. It is the worst kind of tension. It is known as emotional stress. It cripples our progress and hurts our chances of learning and memorizing.  

Brain Rule 9- SENSORY INTEGRATION- Stimulate more of the senses at the same time.

1. Whatever information we absorb, it is with the help of our senses. Then our brain converts these pieces of information into electrical signals and sends them to various parts of the brain. The brain reconstructs every piece of information and then sends us to perceive the whole situation. 
2. Since the brain wiring of every person is different, every person perceives the same information differently. 
3. The more the senses involved in getting the information the better it will be remembered. Vision influences hearing and hearing etc.
4. Smells have an unusual power to bring back memories. Smell signals bypass the thalamus and head straight to their destinations, which include that supervisor of emotions known as the Amygdala.

Brain Rule 10-VISION- Vision trumps all other senses.

1. John Medina says the vision is the most powerful sense. It uses 50% of the brain resources. 
2. We remember things better when we see things in a picture or video form. 
3. What we see is only what our brains tell us we see. It is not 100% accurate. 
4. Vision trumps all other senses because we remember best when we see something in picture form and not in written or spoken form.   

Brain Rule 11-GENDER- Male and female brains are different.

1. Science tells us that men and women are the product of XY and XX chromosomes respectively. They determine their male and female characteristics. 
2. Brain Rule says men and women are different in every aspect. Their brain mapping and thought processes are way different. They perceive things differently which reflects in their actions. 
3. John Medina says under the same level of stress men’s right hemisphere of the Amygdala activates and a female’s left Amygdala. Our left Amygdala functions to explain every emotional detail in full. That is why when women are under stress, they think more and talk more. They are more prone to anxiety. Men under the same level of stress use the right Amygdala and think about the gist of the problem.  
4. Structure-wise and biochemically our brains are different. The Amygdala size of men is bigger and thus produces more serotonin. Serotonin is responsible for focus, attention and happiness. 

Brain Rule 12-EXPLORATION- We are powerful and natural explorers.

1. Jon Medina says we are born explorers. We are born pre-programmed. It’s why we do experiments and learn new things. We become curious to see things and want to know more about them. 
2. Active testing, observation, practical approach, experiment, conclusion, etc come naturally to us.  
3. Since they come naturally to us, we keep learning and experimenting throughout life. This is the basic reason behind human growth and dominance over other creatures.
4. We can recognize and imitate behaviour because of “mirror neurons” scattered across the brain.
5. It gives us stability and behavioural pattern. 

Recap- Brain Rules By John Medina

1. Our brain is wired for 12 miles or 19 kilometres walk every day. It improves our cognitive skills.
2. Humans have lizard brains initially. Then we developed to have like a cat’s brain. Then the cortex is added to the human brain and we become smarter and smarter. We developed new skills and gain mastery of land, water and sky. 
3. Since every brain is wired differently, it depends on us to train and use our body and mind in a unique way.
4. Since our brain focuses only on interesting things, we can not multitask and remain effective. 
5. Repetition helps us to remember for longer.
6. For better memory add additional information to the existing knowledge and repeat often. 
7. A little nap of 26 minutes improves our performance by 34 per cent.
8. Long-term stress hurts our brain power. We may fall sick physically and mentally due to sustained tension. 
9. The more senses we use to learn something, the better we remember them.  
10. Vision is the most powerful sense. Always focus on video and picture learning more than text learning.
11. Man thinks about the crux of any problem when under stress and woman thinks about the detail of the issue under stress.  
12. We are mentally pre-programmed since birth to explore new things. 

Kindly share these brain rules with your friends and relatives. 

Your little service may change their approach to life. 

You can give directions to somebody. 

May God Bless You. Amen.

Thank You.