There are many common beliefs about the brain. While some of these beliefs are based on research, many others are actually myths.

You can thank your brain for everything you feel and understand about yourself and the world.

But how much do you truly know about the complex organ in your head? Some of the things you think about your brain may not be true at all.

Let’s explore some common beliefs about the brain to find out whether they’re true.

The idea that we only use 10 percent of our brain is deeply entrenched in popular culture and often stated as fact in books and movies.

It’s not entirely clear how it all started, but it’s more science fiction than fact.

While some parts of your brain are working harder than others at any given time, it’s untrue that 90 percent of your brain is just useless filler.

Each section of your brain specializes in different functions and, over the course of a day, you use just about every part of your brain.

This doesn’t mean that you can’t improve your brain health. Your whole body is depending on your brain. Here’s how to give your brain the TLC it deserves:

Eat well

A well-balanced diet improves overall health as well as brain health. Eating right reduces the risk of developing health conditions that can lead to dementia.

Foods that promote brain health include:

  • olive oil
  • fruits and vegetables high in vitamin E, such as blueberries, broccoli, and spinach
  • foods rich in antioxidants, such as walnuts and pecans
  • omega-3 fatty acids that can be found in fish, such as salmon, mackerel, and albacore tuna

Exercise your body

Regular physical activity helps reduce the risk of health problems that can cause dementia.

Challenge your brain

Research indicates that activities like crossword puzzles, chess, Sudoku, and reading can lower your risk of memory problems.

Even better is a mentally stimulating hobby that involves a social component, such as a book club.

Not all brains are wrinkled. In fact, most animals have fairly smooth brains.

But there are wrinkle-brained exceptions like primates, whales, and elephants, all of which also happen to be some of the more intelligent animals.

The human brain is exceptionally wrinkled. That’s probably why people conclude that we gain more wrinkles as we learn new things. However, that’s not how we acquire brain wrinkles.

Your brain starts developing wrinkles before you’re even born, during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy, and continues as your brain grows.

Think of the wrinkles as folds. The crevices are called sulci, and the raised areas are known as gyri. The folds allow room for more gray matter inside your skull.

It also decreases wiring length and improves overall cognitive functioning.

Human brains vary quite a bit, but there’s still a typical pattern to brain folds. Research shows that not having the major folds in the right places could cause some dysfunction.

Various studies suggest that subliminal messages might be able to:

Learning entirely new things is far more complicated.

Say you’ve been studying a foreign language. There’s only a small chance that listening to vocabulary words in your sleep can help you remember them a bit better.

According to one 2020 review, while learning during sleep is possible, you’re unlikely to consciously recall or recognize information learned while sleeping.

On the other hand, sleep is crucial to brain function. Getting adequate sleep can help improve memory and reduce mental fatigue.

Perhaps the boost to intellectual performance from sleep is the reason this myth endures. If you want to learn something new, your best bet is to tackle it head-on rather than subliminally.

Well, your brain definitely has a left side (left brain) and a right side (right brain). Each hemisphere controls certain functions and movements on the opposite side of your body.

Beyond that, the left brain is more verbal. It’s analytical and orderly. It takes in the small details and then puts them together to understand the whole picture. The left brain handles reading, writing, and calculations. Some call it the logical side of the brain.

The right brain is more visual and deals in images more than words. It processes information in an intuitive and simultaneous manner. It takes in the big picture and then looks at the details. Some say it’s the creative, artsy side of the brain.

There’s a popular theory that people can be divided into left-brained or right-brained personalities based on one side being dominant. Left-brained people are said to be more logical, and right-brained people are said to be more creative.

However, while one small UK study from 2017 found that 64 percent of participants still believed in this concept, there’s no research to support the theory that one side of your brain is substantially stronger than the other.

As with most things relating to the human brain, it’s complicated. While each hemisphere has its strengths, they don’t work in isolation. Both sides contribute something to logical and creative thinking.

There’s no question that alcohol affects the brain in negative ways. It can impair brain function even in the short term. In the longer term, it can lead to serious brain damage.

However, research has shown that it doesn’t actually kill brain cells.

Long-term heavy drinking can cause shrinking of the brain and result in deficiencies in white matter. This can lead to:

  • slurred speech
  • blurred vision
  • balance and coordination problems
  • slowed reaction times
  • memory impairment, including blackouts

Exactly how alcohol affects an individual’s brain depends on many factors, including:

  • age
  • sex
  • how much and how often you drink, and how long you’ve been drinking
  • general health status
  • family history of substance misuse

Excessive alcohol consumption may make someone more prone to developing a brain disorder called Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome. Symptoms include:

  • mental confusion
  • paralysis of nerves that control eye movement
  • muscle coordination problems and difficulty walking
  • chronic learning and memory problems

Drinking during pregnancy can affect your baby’s developing brain, a condition known as fetal alcohol syndrome.

Children with fetal alcohol syndrome tend to have smaller brain volume (microcephaly). They can also have fewer brain cells or normally functioning neurons. This can cause long-term behavioral and learning problems.

Alcohol may interfere with the brain’s ability to grow new brain cells, which is another reason this myth may persist.

Why is it so easy to believe these myths about the brain?

There’s a grain of truth running through some of them. Others seep into our own brains through repetition, and we fail to question their validity.

If you previously bought into some of these brain myths, take heart. You weren’t alone.

As much as scientists know about the human brain, there’s a long way to go before we come close to fully understanding the mysterious organ that makes us human.