To think; reason out one's actions: teaches a man to use his head and to do the best he can/ You certainly used the old bean(1828+)
Idioms and Phrases with use one's head
use one's head
Think, have common sense, as in Use your head, Martin. No one's coming out in this weather. This idiom uses head in the sense of “brain” or “intellect,” a usage dating from the late 1300s.