Mental Health News
Researchers at Pitié-Salpêtrière University, France, revealed how thinking hard makes you tired. The study is published in the journal Current Biology.
The Study
The research team observed two workplace groups, divided on the basis of the severity of cognitive tasks. They used magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) to monitor brain chemistry over the course of a workday and determine the degree of mental fatigue.
The Findings
The results revealed the realities of cognitive fatigue. Our brain can feel tired from working through hard cognitive tasks and hard mental work. As earlier studies affirm, a brain tired from thinking results in job burnout, low productivity, and poor mental health.
One of the lead researchers, Mathias Pessiglione, elaborated: “Our findings show that cognitive work results in a true functional alteration—accumulation of noxious substances—so fatigue would indeed be a signal that makes us stop working but for a different purpose: to preserve the integrity of brain functioning.”
To Know More You May Refer To
Wiehler, A., Branzoli, F., Adanyeguh, I., Mochel, F., & Pessiglione, M. (2022). A neuro-metabolic account of why daylong cognitive work alters the control of economic decisions. Current Biology, 32(16), 3564-3575.e5. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2022.07.010
