• Question: At what age does the brain work best?

    Asked by georgie98 to Damien, Rachael, Simon, Suzi, Tim on 19 Jun 2011.
    • Photo: Suzi Gage

      Suzi Gage answered on 15 Jun 2011:

      Hi @georgie98
      Great question. I think someone else will be able to answer this better than me!

      I think it’s hard to say what ‘best’ means. You have more brain connections when you’re born, and quickly a lot of them disappear, but this makes your brain more ‘streamlined’ and able to do what you want it to do better.

      I would say when you’re a toddler, and you’re learning how to do EVERYTHING – walking, talking, interacting with people, this is when your brain is working the hardest.

      Hope this answers your question, I can’t wait to read the others’ answers too! 🙂

    • Photo: Damien Hall

      Damien Hall answered on 19 Jun 2011:

      I would have said what Suzi said, if she hadn’t got there first! What ‘best’ is depends on what you’re trying to do at the time.

      If you’re trying to learn new stuff, I think it’s probably true that your brain works best when you are a baby and a toddler. It’s difficult for people who are past that stage to get their heads around it, but imagine having to learn how to do everything that we do by choice without thinking about it, right down to how to move each one of your limbs. The only things you don’t have to learn to do when you’re a baby are the things that your body does for you automatically, like breathing, your heart beating, and so on. Have you ever been able to watch a baby grow up? If you watch closely, you can clearly see when they ‘discover’ that they have hands and feet and can control them – they suddenly start playing with their feet, and so on.

      I’ve also heard it said that the optimal state of the brain for the human being is the state you’re in as an (early) teenager. Sociologists (scientists who study society and people’s interactions with one another) have noticed that people in general seem more ‘switched on’ and alert when they’re in their teens – this can sometimes be seen by how jumpy they are, with their attention always switching from one thing to another, and always needing to be occupied by something or other. People like that are clearly really, really open to sensory stimulation, and able to act on it, so maybe that’s the time when your brain works best!

      In linguistic science, that alertness is also reflected: when we study language change, we are always most interested in what the teenagers are doing, as they will almost always be the ones who use new linguistic fashions first and most. So, if you want to hear what most people from some place will sound like in fifty years, talk to a teenager today!

      This is a great, really deep question. Thanks!

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