Learning has always been the most important way for humans to progress. From the moment we are born and the first step we take, we begin to learn. As we grow older, we learn more and more things. We learn how to read, write and how to ride a bike. We learn how to talk, how to tie our shoes and how to cook. Learning is an integral part of the human experience.

However, the brain cannot handle all of the information that it is given. Learning something new slowly gets difficult, especially with age.

There is an interesting science behind how our brain learns something new. If understood correctly, the learning process for any particular task becomes easier and interesting at the same time.The brain is a magnificent part of the human body. It is responsible for the body’s ability to move, see, hear and think. It is also where learning, memory and emotions are controlled.

Lets start with some numbers to understand how brain works .

Our brain has 86 to 100 billion neurons . i.e 100,000,000,000

Connections between neurons are made by the dendrites in the brain, which is the most important function of neurons .Each neuron has 128 basal dendritic segments, and each dendritic segment has up to 40 actual synapses, so 392000000000000 connections.This is at least 1000 times larger than the number of stars in our galaxy!

When you learn something or gain a new knowledge, a signal is sent to the neuron by a synapse, which triggers an electrical impulse to the dendrites, which in turn makes the connection with the neuron to the receiving side of the brain. In this process the brain where all the layers, dendrites and neurons, get activated and communicate with each other when new information is being processed is called neuroplasticity. The activity of the brain increases in certain regions and decreases in others in response to the new information.

More complex actions, actions that require mental calculations, the creation of art, or remembering important information to do the day’s tasks take place in the brain’s cortex. This is where we remember information and create new thoughts, ideas and concepts in our minds.This new information is also transmitted to other parts of the brain which can then modify it and create new memories for it. This therefore increases the memory capacity of the brain.

For every bit of learning to take place, this connection between neurons needs to change from being in a temporary state to a permanent one .A connection starts to get permanent when you do something with more sensory organs than usual — like reading something out loud or watching a video on YouTube — and repeat it over and over again until it has been absorbed into your memory bank. With repetition, connections to other neurons will grow stronger, and more neurons will fire. When a memory is recalled, the same process occurs. Because of this, neurons and dendrites are constantly being strengthened.

Which means learning something with short breaks but more repetitions is better than learning something continuously for a longer set of hours.From a chemical standpoint your brain has created connection betweens neurons and after repetitions a healthy layer of fat gets deposited on the connection , just like insulation on electric wires which converts it from a temporary state to permanent.

Also interestingly, the way the connections which get permanent define what we have learnt. To explain it in more detail: you can see 1000’s of youtube videos on how to play a guitar. Your brain connections will remember everything about those videos, the song , the chords , the progression but you still won’t be able to play the guitar. Once you take a guitar in hand, pick up a few chords and start strumming, another set of neurons get fired and start making new connections along with the old ones. This set of connections start getting permanent with repetitions. Once these are strong enough you will be able to play the guitar.This is why doing along with studying makes our brain learn better, faster and more complete.

As said in the beginning “ The Brain is a wonderful thing, it learns in a very special way” and if you understand it , you can make the learning process simplified.

Save this post and apply this small hack for you or try with your kids and let me know how it worked out.