Editorial Review
Most of us have no idea what's really going on inside our heads. Yet brain scientists have uncovered details every business leader, parent, and teacher should know--such as the brain's need for physical activity to work at its best.
How do we learn? What exactly do sleep and stress do to our brains? Why is multi-tasking a myth? Why is it so easy to forget--and so important to repeat new information? Is it true that men and women have different brains?
In Brain Rules, molecular biologist Dr. John Medina shares his lifelong interest in how the brain sciences might influence the way we teach our children and the way we work. In each chapter, he describes a brain rule--what scientists know for sure about how our brains work--and then offers transformative ideas for our daily lives.
Medina's fascinating stories and sense of humor breathe life into brain science. You'll learn why Michael Jordan was no good at baseball. You'll peer over a surgeon's shoulder as he finds, to his surprise, that we have a Jennifer Aniston neuron. You'll meet a boy who has an amazing memory for music but can't tie his own shoes.
You will discover how:
- Every brain is wired differently
- Exercise improves cognition
- We are designed to never stop learning and exploring
- Memories are volatile
- Sleep is powerfully linked with the ability to learn
- Vision trumps all of the other senses
- Stress changes the way we learn
In the end, you'll understand how your brain really works--and how to get the most out of it.
About the DVD The Brain Rules DVD, included with this book, is a lively tour of the 12 brain rules. You will experience firsthand Medina's rare gift for making science fun, accessible, and relevant. The DVD will take your understanding of the book to the next level.
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Customer Reviews
Outstanding tips with a sense of humor 
2008-09-03
This author, a well educated neuroscientist, has that rare ability to combine scientific wisdom, common sense and a sense of humor into a cocktail that goes down easy and creates a very pleasant feeling, but doesn't make you stupid. You then know what you need to do to be healthier, live longer and feel better. The rest is up to you.
Brain Rules: RULE! 2008-09-01
Brain Rules is a great book - Medina takes a complex subject (your brain) and makes it seem understandable. His twelve rules are a roadmap for teachers, business people, politicos and really anyone trying to communicate to an audience. I highly recommend this book if you are in any of the above groups. It is light on science and heavy on practical use. If it isn't a mandatory book for every would-be professor it should be.
The book has great practical advice - one such hint on communication is the layout of the 10 minute cycle. One of John's rules is that we only pay attention to things that are interesting and only in 10 minute increments. So if giving a fifty minute lecture you should break the lecture into 5 10 minute topics starting with the gist of the subject and within the first minute grabbing everyone's attention using an emotional attention grabber - if successful you have 10 minutes to get your message through. Repeat it often during the next four sessions and you have a chance to get the message to stick. Use a picture to express the idea and that chance to get your message to stick goes from 10% to 65% over a thirty six hour period. - It is in the book.
Highly recommend!
So far, so good... 
2008-08-31
This book is very informative and exciting to read page by page. I'd definitely recommend it to almost anyone...as I have been! Anybody looking to further their knowledge on how our wonderful devices (brains) work in correlation to many of our daily functions should give this one a chance...and I'm only half-way in!
This Should Be Required Reading For All K-12 Teachers 2008-08-30
The Title for this Review says it all. The information in the book is like a roadmap from AAA.
Beyond being highly knowledgable, the author is humorous, compassionate and very engaging, whether you have the print edition or the audio CD edition, which I have. Seldom before have I enjoyed learning so much! What a refreshing read!
A very adequate citations list is given for all readers and listeners who go to a website that is revealed on the included DVD.
According to developmental molecular biologist John Medina, there are twelve simple rules about the brain we know to be fact. 2008-08-27
Book Review:
Brain Rules by John Medina
What do we know for sure about the brain? Well, though scientists and researchers uncover new information and present new theories at a remarkable rate, according to developmental molecular biologist John Medina, there are twelve simple rules about the brain we know to be fact.
My favorites are Rule #1: Exercise boosts brain power; Rule #7: Sleep well, think well; and Rule #8: Stressed brains don't learn the same way. In addition, Medina offers the clearest reader-friendly explanation I've come across of the stress response and how stress damages our blood vessels, leading to heart attacks and strokes.
Interesting anecdotes from his personal life and clinical experience engage the reader and surround the cutting edge information presented in this inviting and page-turning "good read."
The book comes with an accompanying DVD that encapsulates the chapters in sound and moving pictures (see Rule #10: Vision trumps all other senses).
I recommend Brain Rules for the lay person and the health professional, to gain understanding about this most complex body organ.
Michael B. Roth, D.C.
Knowing The Brain is Great for Business 2008-08-25
Most of us have no idea what's really going on inside our heads. Yet brain scientists have uncovered details every business leader, parent, and teacher should know--such as the brain's need for physical activity to work at its best.
How do we learn? What exactly do sleep and stress do to our brains? Why is multi-tasking a myth? Why is it so easy to forget--and so important to repeat new information? Is it true that men and women have different brains?
In Brain Rules, molecular biologist Dr. John Medina shares his lifelong interest in how the brain sciences might influence the way we teach our children and the way we work. In each chapter, he describes a brain rule--what scientists know for sure about how our brains work--and then offers transformative ideas for our daily lives.
Medina's fascinating stories and sense of humor breathe life into brain science. You'll learn why Michael Jordan was no good at baseball. You'll peer over a surgeon's shoulder as he finds, to his surprise, that we have a Jennifer Aniston neuron. You'll meet a boy who has an amazing memory for music but can't tie his own shoes.
You will discover how:
- Every brain is wired differently
- Exercise improves cognition
- We are designed to never stop learning and exploring
- Memories are volatile
- Sleep is powerfully linked with the ability to learn
- Vision trumps all of the other senses
- Stress changes the way we learn
In the end, you'll understand how your brain really works--and how to get the most out of it.
About the DVD The Brain Rules DVD, included with this book, is a lively tour of the 12 brain rules. You will experience firsthand Medina's rare gift for making science fun, accessible, and relevant. The DVD will take your understanding of the book to the next level.
Superficial 
2008-08-22
I think part of this book is practical advice, part of it is a little
superficial to me ...
A great read, John Medina does a great job !! 2008-08-20
This book is amazing in the fact that John Median makes tough hard science easy to understand, drawing easy to understand analogies and using anecdotes.
The first chapter is imperative, in the fact it allows us to understand why exercise and especially aerobic exercise is paramount, he does not though say much about mental exercise, something I believe is equally significant.
The rest of the book is interesting, but what is really nice about this book is that Medina knows how to write a book every now and then he will stun the reader with short stories, hence capturing and revitalizing interest.
Walking the talk 2008-08-20
John Medina walks the talk! Knows how to grab attention. Well written, DVD supliment is interesting, the website, the slideshow on slideshare is brilliant. Working as a trainer I found the book very useful.
Brain Rules 2008-08-13
Medina's own work focuses on the impact of genetics on human brain development and psychiatric disorders, but in this book he draws on a broad scope of brain research and translates it into eminently readable prose that the average person can relate to. "Brain rules" are things that researchers know for sure about brain function, and I found the them to be quite interesting and surprisingly applicable to my daily life. Rules cover such things as the impact of sleep on learning, what our attention span is (about 10 minutes!), the significance of exercise on brain function and the mechanisms of stress. The author is a dynamic speaker and his book reflects this same approach to communicating brain science to the average person.
