There are numerous aspects relating to human development. One of the most complex aspects, would be the development and structure of the adolescent brain. The way it thinks, reacts, and the psychological growth that occurs throughout the time period of adolescence can be studied for a numerous amount of years and still not be covered. Creativity is a huge factor when looking at the adolescent brain, as well as intelligence. Looking at these two factors we can relate and understand the development of the person.
During childhood years, adolescents are exposed to many types of things and situations. They spend countless hours of interactions with parents, teachers, and friends. One of the biggest thing’s teenagers face are biological changes, new experiences thrown at them, and new developmental tasks. The relationship with their parents starts to form differently, relationships with friends become more intimate, and sexual exploration starts to happen. As all these factors are thrown at them, their interest in their own body image are heightened. Cognitive development occurs as they try to make decisions and be creative on how to fulfill all their needs physically and emotionally.
One of the first tasks as an adolescence is to form some sort of rebellion. As a teenager, it is key in developing to get a sense of independence from your parents. As a person develops, once they start to move through phases, they start to think for themselves. As one can think for themselves, there is always some sort of rebellion. This contributes as a developmental road block throughout maturation for that individual to obtain a stable identity. For adolescence that are more creative, when they are faced by opposition, they learn to think for themselves and figure out how to get around the base of what is holding them back. In turn, this can make them more creative and intelligent.
Acting out and testing boundaries is one way in which adolescents further their journey toward accepting their parents’ values and rules. Everything about teenagers are different than adults. One of the most profound examples is their taste and manners in things. How they behave, the different clothes they wear, hairstyles, music they enjoy, everything is quite different. Throughout this time period, adolescents are trying to creatively find themselves, and gain knowledge for their future phases of life.
Youth benefit vastly when they are having caring guardians around them. This can be anyone from coaches, to teachers, parents, or neighbors. If teenagers have positive influences in these positions, they are bound to be more creative and be more well-rounded. If a teenager has a negative influence in their life, they are more bound to push everyone out of their life and not be as creative. They do not develop a great intelligent side to them unless they have a positive influence they can look up to and work for.
Being a positive influence in an adolescence life means you must take certain steps to make sure their brain is developed to the best of its ability. A parent can do this by encouraging positive thoughts and actions, helping them create good thinking skills, and getting a lot of rest during this crucial time. Throughout the development of adolescence, poor mental health is a common factor that seems to recur through every generation. A developing adolescent brain is more vulnerable to stress factors than the adult brain. It is important to develop a teenager’s brain in an effective way, so they have opportunities to excel in school, and think more creative during that time frame and after.
To understand where teenagers get their creative and intelligent thoughts, we must understand what part of their brains are firing off. In the front part of the brain, there is tissue called the cerebral cortex that covers the front part of the frontal lobe. This part of the brain has been linked to cognitive behavior, personality expression, decision making, and social behavior. The cerebral cortex is also the decision-making part of the brain. This is responsible for adolescent’s capability to plan and think about the outcomes and consequences of actions. This part of the brain also solves problems and controls certain reactions to situations. Changes in the cerebral cortex continue into early adulthood.
An adolescent’s emotional intelligence is as important as the creativity of their mind. Emotional intelligence is someone’s ability to understand and recognize their emotions and reactions. Basically, it is one’s self-awareness of their actions and how to handle their thinking. As an adolescent, being able to control physical outputs, managing your mood, being in control of your emotions through self-realization is key to a healthy mind no matter what phase a person is in. If parents teach their teenagers certain skills to motivate them through emotions and then to commit and follow through, teenagers will learn how to handle their emotions on a higher level. This also sets them up to be more successful because they are learning skills to help them through a critical time in their life. Eventually, the teenager will learn skills to be able to recognize and pick apart the feelings of others. This in turn, is teaching them to make real world connections and it gives them a sense of trust. Being able to build strong relationships, relate to other people, work as part of a team in school or at work, and being able to argue in a positive way are all benefits of teaching an adolescent emotional intelligence.
Statistics show that many adolescents must deal with stress and pressure each day of school, work, and other stressful activities. Adolescents that do not have skills to deal with stress have a higher chance of acting out and having anxiety. If a teenager can work on their anxiety, they will have an easier time dealing with mood swings and it uplifts depression. If a teenager stays in a depressive state and does not work on their mental health, their overall health decreases. If depressed, their emotional intelligence is hidden behind their depression. Therefore, it is so important to make sure your child and anyone around you has good mental health because it alters the mind and body.
It is proven that taking on all the responsibilities of school and work strengthens the brain’s regulatory system. This means that having the opportunity to excel in work and school helps with decision-making and builds organizational skills. For an adolescent to have a strong mental well-being means that they must start by maintaining a good school record and reach out for social connections to their communities. This can range from school teachers, coaches, neighbors, volunteering, etc. If an adolescent cannot connect to the community, it is important to make sure the individual has opportunities to maintain other relationships than their parents. Numerous adolescents think that they have strong connections from social media. If they do not have the opportunity to interact with their family, participate in community gatherings, and have social life, it makes the brain not develop to the highest standard. As a parent, you need to make sure that you are allowing your teenager to interact with their friends if they are mentally supportive and help your child’s well-being. This is an important factor in an adolescent’s brain developing creativity and having the opportunity for the brain to develop in a healthy way.
Nutrition and exercise have a huge impact on the brain and wellbeing of an adolescent during a time where the body needs nutritious foods to grow. If a teenager is not putting the right things into their body, their physical nature will not be able to support their growing mind. Many of adolescence kids live on fast food meals. As teenagers progress through adolescence, they become less active and less motivated. Teenagers that are working out have better connectivity between different brain regions than other teenagers that do not make time to work out. Adolescence that work out more are also linked to having fewer depressive symptoms, improved moods, and a more positive outlook on life. It is vital to make sure your teenager is getting enough exercise and make sure they are eating right so their mental wellbeing is in a good place. Exercise is associated with parenting and friendships.
Just like nutrition and exercise, sleep is a huge influence on the teen brain and how it functions. Sleep patterns in adolescence contribute to health behaviors. A low amount of sleep is linked to depression which affects the brain. With little to no sleep, it is almost impossible for a teenager to focus and do well in school. Older adolescents are usually sleepier in the day than younger adolescents. Sleep patterns start changing in early adulthood and when an individual start transitioning into other phases. It is important for an adolescent to get a good amount of sleep because not doing well in school is linked to depression and eventually affecting the teenager’s individual well-being as discussed before. All these factors hinder the adolescent’s creativity and intelligence in the long run.
As we can see there are numerous factors that can affect an adolescent’s brain. This includes how intelligent they can become, their emotional well-being, even their emotional intelligence. If they right steps are taken, a teenager can prevail through their adolescent years and be in a great spot mentally. Since the brain of the most complex aspects of human development, because of how it works, there are many topics that can be discussed. Creativity and intelligence in the adolescent brain is a small topic, but one of the most important to fully understand the individual. Without proper growth, these two categories can be detrimental.
