Human beings are one of the smartest animals on Earth. Due to our intelligence and brain functionalities, we’re able to do things most animals can’t.
It’s because of our intelligence; we have been able to make so many crucial discoveries and inventions.
Human beings have set foot in the moon as well as capture the picture of a black hole that was previously deemed impossible.
However, there are still a few things human beings haven’t figured out yet. We have reached as far in the space as possible. Yet, we’re not successful to unravel the mysteries of the mind.
Come to think about it, the human mind is definitely the most mysterious and complex things scientists have come across.
The more they try to learn about it, the more complex it gets.
We all know what a mind is. We know how it is formed and its basic functions. But there are so many mysteries of the brain we aren’t familiar with.
And the most surprising thing is that the simple things we encounter everyday are actually the most complex to understand.
Let’s take a look at some of the mysteries of the human brain.
Consciousness.
The definition of consciousness is “a state of being aware of and responsive to one’s surroundings.”
So, if we’re conscious we are awake and aware of what is going on around us.
It sounds pretty simple, right? But the fact that scientists have still not figured out the reason why we are conscious is somewhat disappointing.
Consciousness is a rather complex topic to discuss. And it is something that has left hundreds of scientists scratching their heads for decades.
We know the brain has 100 billion neurons (nerve cells) responsible for passing signals to each other via as many as 1000 trillion synaptic connections.
But the psychology and the power of the human mind is beyond understanding.
And so is the reason behind our consciousness.
Dreams.
Dreams are a series of thoughts and images that we witness while asleep. They’re like movies made out of memories that we see every night while sleeping.
We know the nature of dreams but why does it occur and what purpose it has, still baffles scientists.
Scientists believe dreams occur because people didn’t take care of their emotions and tasks during the day.
Another possible theory is that it exercises the brain by stimulating the trafficking of synapses between brain cells.
However, none of these theories are yet proven. Leaving dreams to be one of the biggest mysteries of the mind.
Memories.
Another baffling mystery of the brain is memories. We all know we have them, but we never knew how it exactly works.
Surprisingly, neither do scientists.
They’re still trying to figure out how we’re able to create and store millions of memories.
In addition, the scientists have found that the hippocampus, a tiny, curved formation in the brain’s gray matter is actually responsible for storing memories.
However, memories are still a mysterious phenomenon.
Sleep.
The general understating about sleep is we do it when we’re tired. Human beings sleep more than a quarter of their lifetime. Sleep is definitely one of the most important things for living beings.
It’s proven that lack of sleep leads to different health hazards, you’d never want to go through. We also know there are two states of sleep – non-rapid eye movement (NREM) and rapid eye movement (REM).
However, it’s still unclear as to why do we sleep. We’re also unaware of the fact that we shut our eyes during sleep.
Laughter.
Humor is probably the most confusing thing for scientists to understand. For everyone is different making the level of their sense of humor different.
It is proven that laughter lights up three parts of the brain; the thinking part, the movement area, and an emotional region.
However, the mystery as to why we laugh is still unknown.
And the biggest mystery is how two people process the same action in two different ways. Thus, making one laugh out loud and the other just chuckle.
