Jun 13, 20222 min read

How many bits of sensory information do you think our brains receive and process each second?

Updated: Apr 22

The human brain is quite incredible. It receives and processes 11 million bits of data per second and has a processing speed of about 400 to 1,000 Ghz That’s quite ‘mind-blowing’ when you consider the fastest desktop computer only has a speed of 5.2ghz!!

And it’s not just processing ‘binary’ data, it’s processing a mass of information from various stimulus, every second, from our body - what am I seeing, hearing, smelling, feeling – hot, cold, pain, all sensations that it processes instantly.

But yet, our conscious mind can only process a tiny proportion of this - just 40-50 bits of information per second.

The information on pain and sensation is fed through our nervous system, but since the brain is already like Heathrow airport, it needs to rely on past experiences to process the information and make decisions faster. Is it really in danger or is it ok? Is that pain something to acknowledge or is it ok?

This ability for the brain to make snap decisions based on past ‘data’ is why you perhaps feel pain in one hip when actually both are sore. It can be why you fear running on gravel if that was where you fell and broke an ankle. Using this data speeds up the brains processing, its like taking a well-trodden path through a forest, but it is possible to change the path. It takes time to re-tread but it can change and we can ‘unlearn’ fear or pain reactions, and in fact re-train your brain’s neural pathways....

We can use Kinesiology to help unlock these 'pain pathways' - whether that is emotional or physical - and help the brain to learn to tread a new path....