“I slept plenty on my day off, but I’m still tired.”
“By Monday, I’m already worn out.”
Does this sound familiar?
When we think of fatigue, we tend to picture something physical, but in recent years the term “brain fatigue” has become widely known.
Today, we are constantly exposed to a flood of information through our smartphones and computers.
Even on our days off, we
• scroll through social media
• watch videos
• check the news
• reply to messages
and more, so the brain keeps processing information.
The brain makes up only about 2% of our body weight, yet it is said to use roughly 20% of the body’s total energy.
That is why, even when your body is resting, you may not feel truly rested if your brain is still hard at work.
In addition, when tension from work or relationships continues, the sympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system tends to take over.
When the sympathetic nervous system is dominant,
• breathing becomes shallow
• the neck and shoulder muscles tense up
• the body has a harder time switching into rest mode
These kinds of changes are known to occur.
As a result, many people find themselves thinking, “I rested, so why am I still tired?”
These days, rest is increasingly viewed not only in terms of how long we sleep, but also in terms of whether the brain and nervous system have truly been able to recover.
If your tiredness lingers even after a day off, it may help to look beyond your hours of sleep and ask whether you are making time to step away from information and simply relax.