Does your body ever so feel tired that you’d rather curl up on the couch with a margarita and the Netflix remote rather than head for a run at the end of the day, even though you spent most of your day sitting at a desk?
Do you ever catch yourself being super impatient or snappy with the people around you, when all they did was ask you a simple question?
Or, do you ever find it really hard to concentrate or focus on a task, make a simple decision (like what to cook for dinner) or even find your words?
If so, there is a fair chance that you might be experiencing Mental Fatigue.
"We are not wired to use the 'higher-order executive function' all the time," says Melanie Greenberg, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist and author of "The Stress Proof Brain." While "higher-order executive function" can include obvious tasks like taking exams, it can also comprise a combination of smaller challenges, like processing a lot of new information coming at you at once.
"After a while, our brains automate things and take less energy," Greenberg says. For example, if you drive the same way to work every day, that activity will use less brain energy than if you had to constantly find new routes. When your brain is dealing with an ongoing supply of new information, it must put energy into every decision, which overuses that executive function and can cause mental fatigue.
"Stressors are not meant to be on all the time," Greenberg says, and they are what also lead to "burnout," which she describes as "dealing with so many problems or things that don't have solutions."
With the constant amount of change and disruption at the moment, coupled with the challenge that many of the issues that face us don’t appear to have solutions within our control, little wonder why most of our poor brains are feeling fried and consequently fatigued.
OK, so it’s time to be kind to your brain.
The good news is you can put some measures in place to avoid mental burnout.
Just knowing that there are limits to your brain function will help you think differently. The prefrontal cortex, where your higher-order thinking is done, takes a lot of energy, so your brain cannot perform complex tasks (including decision making) all day.
Consider these three things to ease the burden of mental fatigue:
Reset your Routine: Consider completing your most challenging activities in the morning. Automate certain activities to make fewer decisions (same coffee order, same suit & shirt: if Barrack Obama did it, so can we, consistent dinner every Tuesday). By keeping some basic, routine decisions simple (or eliminating them altogether) we have more mental energy to deal with the rest of our days.
See Green: Take a mini-break and look out the window to nature. One study showed that just one minute of looking at a grassy rooftop reduced errors and improved concentration.
Get Physical: Lots of studies have shown the value of exercise in boosting concentration and mental focus. Twenty minutes can improve performance and short, intense exercise sessions can increase blood flow to the brain and improve your mood, memory and creativity.
Why not take up our October 2020 Challenge to #LetsGetPhysical together! It’s always way more fun with a fitness friend.
Be kind to your body, be kind to your brain!
Most importantly, be kind to yourself!
#2020Challenge: Let’s Get Physical!
When we are mentally fatigued our brain tends to take short-cuts to preserve energy. One, it acts impulsively, or two, all too hard basket - complete avoidance.
We need to intentionally factor in activities in our day to reduce the impact of mental fatigue, be kind to our brain to avoid burnout.
Check-in and stay physical! Integrate daily physical challenges into your life using the Kickstarter Kit!
Download our October #2020Challenge and let’s get physical!
BLYTHE ROWE & Her Life on Heels.
The founder and director of Human Incite, is widely recognised for her passion, energy and her ability to shake things up. Blythe is brilliant at revving-up productivity and performance in organisations. She is on a mission to rid our workplaces of toxic behaviours, build meaningful relationships, personally and professionally and create workplaces worth belonging. Her enthusiasm simply is infectious!