"The brain is not turned" is true!Your body will be tired, and your head will be!

Review expert: Li Xianhong

National Secondary Psychological Counselor

After a day of work, modern workers just wanted to lie on the bed and did not want to do nothing. Although not engaged in physical labor, thinking every day can make people feel exhausted and feel that "the brain will not turn." So, will long -term brain fatigue affect human health?

Source 丨 Network

Studies on cognitive fatigue (fatigue caused by excessive brain) have been carried out for more than a century, but the cause behind it has not fully explained clearly. A recent study published in "Current Biology" provides new evidence. It was tiring to carry out brainpower than the seemingly "sitting office".

Source 丨 sciencedirect.com

1

Observation of cognitive fatigue

Researchers at Piga-SALPêtrière Hospital and Paris Institute of Paris recruited 40 participants and divided them into two groups: 24 people in difficult groups completed the difficult work based on computers. 16 people in simple groups were engaged in simple simplicity relaxing work. Within 6.25 hours, all participants were required to perform two cognitive control tasks (switching and returning) that induced cognitive fatigue.

The letter is displayed on the computer screen every 1.6 seconds. In the switching task, participants must distinguish vowels, consonants, consonants or uppercases and lowercases according to the colors of the letter, and their difficulty depends on color changes. In the return task, the participants must explain whether the letters on the screen are the same as the letter presented in the previous N tests, and the difficulty of task and the interval between the two tests (that is, the amount of information to be retained in the memory).

Source 丨 "A Neuro-Metabolic Account of why Daylong Cognitivework Alters The Control of Economic Decisions" "

Researchers also asked the participants to make 4 economic decisions after the experiment. For example, whether to receive 41.20 euros immediately, or 50 euros one month later. As a result, difficult groups are easier to make impulse choices (about 10%) than participants in simple groups, and over time, in terms of economic decision -making, difficult groups start to choose options that need less thinking and calculation. This shows that cognitive fatigue affects the working status and emotions of the participants in the difficult group.

2

"Behind the scene" glutamic acid

So, what are the differences between the brains of the two groups of participants?

Researchers used magnetic resonance spectrum (MRS) to detect metabolites in the participants' nerve tissues. It was found that participants in the difficult group accumulated higher levels of glutamic acid (rising by about 8%) at the outer frontal leaf cortex (LPFC) of their brain.

(A) MRS data collection of nerve metabolites (B) MRS results of glutamic acid level

Source 丨 "A Neuro-Metabolic Account of why Daylong Cognitivework Alters The Control of Economic Decisions" "

LPFC is equivalent to the command and control center of the brain. High -level thinking (such as decision -making and self -control) will be carried out here. Cologne is the most abundant neurotransmitter in the central nervous system and is also a kind of excitement neurotransmitter. It must maintain a close balance with the inhibitory neural transmission to enable the brain to operate normally.

Glutamic acid

Source 丨 Wikipedia Encyclopedia

At the same time, glutamic acid is still a "two -sided". For the intracellular chamber, it is a useful resource that can be combined with ammonia in the blood to form a benide to have a "detoxification" function. In the outer chamber, glutamic acid has become a toxic by -product, so it is important to limit the release of glutamic acid.

When a large amount of glutamic acid in the extracellular chamber is accumulated, it will cause the excitement/inhibitory balance of neural cells to be destroyed, and the synapses between neurons are disturbed. This will trigger a regulatory mechanism that increases the cost of activating LPFC, causing the brain cognitive control ability to decrease. This also explains why cognitive control is more difficult to mobilize after a day of high -intensity work, and people become exhausted.

Excited in the transmission between neurons

Source ｜ Pixabay

It is generally believed that cognitive fatigue is a feeling of the brain to make you rest. However, this study shows that its real purpose is to protect the function of the brain from being damaged.

Source ｜ Pixabay

So, is there a way to eliminate the restrictions on thinking fatigue? The answer is: The best way is to rest and sleep, because the concentration of glutamic acid during sleep will reduce the fatigue of the brain.

In the future, there are still many problems to be studied in depth. For example, how does the brain monitor the level of glutamic acid? Why is the cognitive control area more likely to accumulate glutamic acid than other areas such as visual cortex? How does glutamic acid level restore during rest or sleep?

3

How to relieve fatigue?

After being tired for a day, get home, and after dinner, do you like to lying on the sofa to brush your mobile phone or play games to relax? But this does not actually relax the brain, because at this time the brain still needs to process information, and long -term viewing of the electronic screen will cause damage to vision. So, what are the correct ways to relax? 1. Ensure enough rest time

Put down the phone, listen to soothing music before going to bed, practice meditation, or massage the head to make the brain really relax. Try to go to bed early and ensure sufficient sleep time. It is best to enter a deep sleep state at about 23 o'clock. If long -term lack of sleep or insomnia, it will make the brain's response to the outside world dull, and the thinking will become unconventional, which will affect learning and work.

Source 丨 pixabay

2. Appropriate brain

Pay attention to the combination of work and rest, relax and degree. During the work, every hour of work can let the brain rest for about 10 minutes, such as overlooking the distance and listening to a song. Excessive use of the brain may break the balance of cerebral cortex inhibition/excitement, cause the nerve function to disordinate, reduce memory and judgment, and cause serious damage to the brain.

Source 丨 UNSPLASH

3. Perform appropriate physical exercise

It is very comfortable at home at home on weekends, but it is not beneficial to the body after lying too long, and there will be risk of suffering from other diseases. Therefore, to maintain a certain amount of exercise, exercise can speed up the blood circulation of the human body, promote metabolism, and help the brain's absorption of nutrients. If your exercise cells are not developed, you can choose a more soothing exercise method, such as walking, short -distance jogging, playing Tai Chi, etc.

Source 丨 pixabay

4. Create a comfortable environment

Studies have shown that in the working environment with relatively quiet, smooth air, and suitable humidity, the brain has stronger ability to process information and is more likely to eliminate fatigue. Therefore, pay attention to ventilation and gas in the office, reduce noise, and create a more soothing environment.

The brain labor seems to be "idle", in fact, the brain is often in a very busy state. If the potential of the brain is fully exerted one day, can it be liberated? Let's wait and see, but before that, please treat your brain well.

Does not represent the position of the Institute of Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences

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Source: Digital Beijing Science Center

Edit: Just_iu

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