“10% of Your Brain” Myth: Here’s the TRUTH

By Dr. Scott Olson, ND Posted September 14, 2023

It’s funny how an idea will ebb and flow.

“You only use 10 percent of your brain.”

It’s an idea I haven’t heard in a long time. But it’s getting a lot of play again lately.

It has some serious staying power. But is it true?

It might surprise you to learn this odd claim came from a famous book by Dale Carnegie called “How to Win Friends and Influence People.”

In his 1936 introduction to the book, Lowell Thomas wrote that the average man only develops 10 percent of his latent mental abilities.

He credits the idea to a Harvard Professor, giving it more weight. And so a myth was born.

I doubt Thomas ever intended people to take the idea so literally. But either way, it’s simply not true.

We, in fact, use the same percentage of our brain as our OTHER organs.

Your heart may pump slower and faster sometimes, but the WHOLE organ is always working. Your brain is the same.

When we put folks into functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) machines to measure their brain activity, we can literally see all of their brain’s parts working together to perform tasks.

But I do like the MESSAGE implied by the 10 percent question. We have so much more POTENTIAL inside of us that we should always strive to take advantage of it.

And perhaps THAT’S why the idea has such staying power. Ultimately, it’s both hopeful AND motivating.

Your brain IS a magnificent, powerful tool for your life’s adventures—if you take care of it.

That means eating well, getting enough quality sleep, avoiding stress, getting some regular exercise, and supplementing to make up for any nutritional shortcomings.

You’ll always be using ALL of your brain. But you can help your brain function BETTER.

P.S. Try this quick and easy Brain Health QUIZ.

Source:

“How To Win Friends And Influence People: Introduction: ‘A Shortcut to Distinction”’ by Lowell Thomas,” Web Edition of the Unrevised Work by Dale Carnegie

Written By Dr. Scott Olson, ND

Nearly 25 years ago, failed mainstream medical treatments left Dr. Olson in constant pain – and his health in ruins. And that’s when he did something REVOLUTIONARY. He began his career in medicine – and dedicated his life to uncovering the true, underlying causes of disease.
Through his innovative medical practices in Tennessee and Colorado, Dr. Olson has helped cure countless seniors from across America of arthritis… heart disease… diabetes… and even cancer. All without risky prescription drugs or painful surgeries.

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