Alison Wood Brooks

That makes a lot of sense, right? This is about the most important thing your brain can be doing. It's about as hardwired as it gets. Your brain is controlled by these pulses of activity, kind of washing across the brain this electrical activity. And there's real evidence that the speed of your breath affects those rhythms.

That makes a lot of sense, right? This is about the most important thing your brain can be doing. It's about as hardwired as it gets. Your brain is controlled by these pulses of activity, kind of washing across the brain this electrical activity. And there's real evidence that the speed of your breath affects those rhythms.

So if your brain is behaving in a way you don't want to, if your thoughts are racing, you can essentially kind of hack into your brain with your breathing and willfully exert some control over that process. It's really pretty amazing. And one of the few ways to actually affect your body's function willfully.

So if your brain is behaving in a way you don't want to, if your thoughts are racing, you can essentially kind of hack into your brain with your breathing and willfully exert some control over that process. It's really pretty amazing. And one of the few ways to actually affect your body's function willfully.

So if your brain is behaving in a way you don't want to, if your thoughts are racing, you can essentially kind of hack into your brain with your breathing and willfully exert some control over that process. It's really pretty amazing. And one of the few ways to actually affect your body's function willfully.

You know, for instance, things which seem totally trivial, right, red hair versus blonde or something like that, actually have dramatic consequences for your body. So here's some big things. The color of hair is very complicated, obviously, and determined less by evolution than by genetic drift, just kind of chance mutations. Couple of cool things here.

You know, for instance, things which seem totally trivial, right, red hair versus blonde or something like that, actually have dramatic consequences for your body. So here's some big things. The color of hair is very complicated, obviously, and determined less by evolution than by genetic drift, just kind of chance mutations. Couple of cool things here.

You know, for instance, things which seem totally trivial, right, red hair versus blonde or something like that, actually have dramatic consequences for your body. So here's some big things. The color of hair is very complicated, obviously, and determined less by evolution than by genetic drift, just kind of chance mutations. Couple of cool things here.

One, we often have this idea that blonde hair is associated with Northern Europe and Scandinavia or that kind of things. We know now though from genetic analysis that that's not where blonde hair came from at all. It actually came from over towards Mongolia and Russia around Lake Baikal. And it was only brought to Europe maybe 17,000 years ago with this mass migration of people.

One, we often have this idea that blonde hair is associated with Northern Europe and Scandinavia or that kind of things. We know now though from genetic analysis that that's not where blonde hair came from at all. It actually came from over towards Mongolia and Russia around Lake Baikal. And it was only brought to Europe maybe 17,000 years ago with this mass migration of people.

One, we often have this idea that blonde hair is associated with Northern Europe and Scandinavia or that kind of things. We know now though from genetic analysis that that's not where blonde hair came from at all. It actually came from over towards Mongolia and Russia around Lake Baikal. And it was only brought to Europe maybe 17,000 years ago with this mass migration of people.

That's a relatively recent one. Much more fundamental, though, is red hair. Red hair is much, much older. So old, in fact, that we know Neanderthals, some Neanderthals had red hair as well, which is really kind of amazing and mind-boggling. So the mutation that causes red hair... You know, it comes out of the skin, so it's tied up with a lot of the biology of the skin.

That's a relatively recent one. Much more fundamental, though, is red hair. Red hair is much, much older. So old, in fact, that we know Neanderthals, some Neanderthals had red hair as well, which is really kind of amazing and mind-boggling. So the mutation that causes red hair... You know, it comes out of the skin, so it's tied up with a lot of the biology of the skin.

That's a relatively recent one. Much more fundamental, though, is red hair. Red hair is much, much older. So old, in fact, that we know Neanderthals, some Neanderthals had red hair as well, which is really kind of amazing and mind-boggling. So the mutation that causes red hair... You know, it comes out of the skin, so it's tied up with a lot of the biology of the skin.

It is a much simpler and therefore, you know, much more profound mutation. And one of the things it dictates is, well, there are two really, two big ones. One, people with red hair are much more sensitive to ultraviolet rays, which means actually that if you have red hair, it's basically equivalent to 21 extra years of exposure to the sun. Pretty wild.

It is a much simpler and therefore, you know, much more profound mutation. And one of the things it dictates is, well, there are two really, two big ones. One, people with red hair are much more sensitive to ultraviolet rays, which means actually that if you have red hair, it's basically equivalent to 21 extra years of exposure to the sun. Pretty wild.

It is a much simpler and therefore, you know, much more profound mutation. And one of the things it dictates is, well, there are two really, two big ones. One, people with red hair are much more sensitive to ultraviolet rays, which means actually that if you have red hair, it's basically equivalent to 21 extra years of exposure to the sun. Pretty wild.

So it makes it important for somebody with red hair to wear their sunscreen, right? But then in a stranger and more profound way, people with red hair, they actually process pain differently. The mechanisms by which pain is felt by people with red hair are completely different for other people.

So it makes it important for somebody with red hair to wear their sunscreen, right? But then in a stranger and more profound way, people with red hair, they actually process pain differently. The mechanisms by which pain is felt by people with red hair are completely different for other people.

So it makes it important for somebody with red hair to wear their sunscreen, right? But then in a stranger and more profound way, people with red hair, they actually process pain differently. The mechanisms by which pain is felt by people with red hair are completely different for other people.