Brainstorm

Brainstorm is a fascinating look into the teenage brain that explains why adolescents act so hormonally and recklessly.

It may sound crazy, but the wild behavior of teenagers is a sign that their brain is right on track developmentally. Let’s take the embarrassment and frustration that kids suddenly feel toward their parents as one example.

Although this behavior is hurtful, understanding its purpose in the developing mind can help. All your teenager wants to do is develop a healthy emotional distance so they can be ready to leave your home. When they lash out and say that they hate you, it’s not really true. Instead, see it as the brain’s effort to emotionally detach so the transition to adulthood is easier.

Similarly, you may shake your head at the teenagers you know that are constantly pushing the boundaries. They seem to always be doing what’s unsafe, and it drives you crazy! But on closer inspection, this behavior is also completely understandable for a teenager.

While connected to the elevated levels of dopamine in their brains and peer pressure, kids recklessness has a higher purpose. It’s also related to preparing for leaving home. Looking at it from an evolutionary perspective, early humans needed to be as far away from their family gene pool as possible to have healthier offspring. The disregard for safety in teenagers is an effort for their brains to get out of their comfort zones in preparation to go out away from their family. This has the additional benefit of helping them grow, which allows them better opportunities for education and work.

Not only do teenagers struggle with aggression, but they also appear to be pretty lazy. Partying all night and sleeping in until the early afternoon are hallmarks of adolescence. On closer inspection, however, this time of life is rather productive from the brain’s perspective. In childhood, your brain develops extra neurons and connections. But as you age, the brain begins pruning those parts of the brain it no longer needs. So how does your mind decide what stays and what goes? Look at your prior experience. A child who shows interest in music, for example, would need to be nurtured to develop that skill. Otherwise, in her teenage years, the brain may see the musical experiences as unnecessary, and prune the associated neural connections. Opposite of pruning is the process of myelination. This phenomenon is how the brain strengthens the neural connections made in childhood. It allows for messages to travel faster between neurons, making a person better at that particular skill. If you can help your teenagers have a focus, like sports or music, then they will become better as they age because of myelination.…