Brain Rules

Category: Biographies
Brand: pear-press
Official site: https://brainrules.net/the-rules/

Popular science book by molecular biologist John Medina that distills 12 research-backed principles about how the brain works. It focuses on attention, memory, sleep, stress, and other factors that influence learning, performance, and work habits—useful for founders, product leaders, and anyone designing better ways to learn and work.

Features

Core Principles ("Brain Rules")

Each rule is presented in the book and reinforced online through short illustrated tutorials, charts, and video explanations.

1. Exercise – Exercise boosts brain power
   Explores how physical activity improves brain performance and supports learning and cognition.
2. Survival – The human brain evolved, too
   Discusses how the brain’s evolution shapes how we think, respond, and learn today.
3. Wiring – Every brain is wired differently
   Covers individual differences in brain wiring and implications for learning and work.
4. Attention – We don't pay attention to boring things
   Explains how attention works, what captures it, and what causes us to lose it.
5. Memory (Short-Term) – Repeat to remember
   Focuses on how short‑term/working memory functions and how repetition strengthens recall.
6. Memory (Long-Term) – Remember to repeat
   Details strategies for consolidating information into long‑term memory through spaced repetition.
7. Sleep – Sleep well, think well
   Connects sleep quality and patterns to cognitive performance, learning, and decision-making.
8. Stress – Stressed brains don't learn the same way
   Describes how stress affects the brain, learning, and productivity.
9. Sensory Integration – Stimulate more of the senses
   Shows how engaging multiple senses can improve understanding and memory.
10. Vision – Vision trumps all other senses
    Explains the dominance of visual processing and how visuals support learning.
11. Music – Study or listen to boost cognition
    Looks at how music relates to attention, learning, and cognitive performance.
12. Gender – Male and female brains are different
    Reviews research on differences in male and female brains and their potential implications.
13. Exploration – We are powerful and natural explorers
    Highlights curiosity, experimentation, and exploration as core to how the brain learns.

Companion Learning Materials

• Illustrated tutorials for each rule (icons, diagrams, and visual explanations)
• Short videos (linked via Vimeo and site pages) that walk through key concepts of each rule
• Chapter-linked structure: tutorials are intended to be used after reading the corresponding book chapter to reinforce learning

The provided content does not specify any pricing or editions for the book. For purchase options and pricing, see the publisher or bookseller sites linked from the official page.