Is It True That People Only Use 10 Percent of Their Brain?

The notion that we only use 10 percent of our brain is often repeated among friends, family members, and popular television programs. It's also a myth. The brain is always active, demanding approximately 20 percent of the body's energy even though it only represents about three percent of our total body weight.

According to neuroscientists, every single portion of our brain is active, whether it's working on the higher reasoning associated with the frontal lobe or the formation of memories associated with the temporal lobe. Even during tasks that we don't think about, such as breathing or the beating of our hearts, the brain is actively engaged.

Learn more about how this urban legend started and some of the arguments against it in this overview of the 10 percent myth.

_{Image: Julia Freeman-Woolpert}