How rapidly does the brain develop in the first 1,000 days?

The first 1000 days of life is a critical window that lays down lifelong health. The acceleration of physical growth during this time period is evident as a child’s weight triples in the first year of life and the length increases by 75% at 2 years of age.1 More difficult for clinicians to observe is the rapid brain development that also takes place during this time.

Rapid brain development encompasses two aspects:

• First, the brain size nearly triples from newborn being around 25% of the adult brain size to being 80% of the adult size by age 2.2,3
• Second, although a newborn has similar numbers of neurons as an adult, for the most part, they are not connected. In the first years of life, neural connections are formed at an astounding speed. More than 1 million new neural connections are established every second.4

Brain development in this period is undisputably pivotal for long-term cognition function and overall wellbeing.

To find out more about brain processes, such as synaptogenesis and myelination happening at top rates during this time and how to support brain development, read The Explosion of Myelination and Synaptogenesis in Early Life and Scientific Evidence for the Benefits of MFGM to Brain Development and Cognitive Function.

Brain Development 0-2 Years