Thinking too hard really does strain your brain – fuelling stress and anger, scientists warn

SCIENTISTS say we should take it easy because thinking too hard really does strain your brain.

A study found we quickly get stressed and annoyed when making a big mental effort.

Alamy

Experts said bosses and teachers should lay off their workers and students.

The research, called “The Unpleasantness of Thinking”, analysed 170 studies involving 4,670 people in 29 countries.

It found that people scored feelings of frustration higher when they did more difficult tasks.

Study author Dr Erik Bijleveld, from Radboud University in the Netherlands, said: “In general, people really dislike mental effort.

“Managers often encourage employees to exert mental effort.

“On the surface, this seems to work well so you may be tempted to think that employees tend to enjoy thinking hard.

“Our results suggest that this conclusion would be false.”

People should be rewarded for substantial mental effort

Dr Erik Bijleveld Radboud University

The studies included people from all walks of life such as health service and military staff, university students and sportspeople.

They were given various tasks like learning new technology, practising golf swings or playing games.

Writing in the journal Psychological Bulletin, Dr Bijleveld said: “Our main finding is that mental effort is strongly associated with negative feeling.

“We found this association in all types of tasks and all types of populations, including experienced professionals and university-educated people.”

‘Half of Brits feel overworked’

A 2023 poll found 53 per cent of Brits feel overworked and research in 2019 showed 40 per cent are brave enough to pull a sickie if they want a day off.

Dr Bijleveld explained that people might put up with mental effort to learn a tricky hobby or job they enjoy overall – but it does not mean thinking hard makes them happy.

He added: “When people are required to exert substantial mental effort, you need to make sure to support or reward them.”

Signs of burnout

Burnout is defined by the World Health Organization as “a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed”.

In other words, the stress you are experiencing at work is not being managed, causing you to feel:

• energy depletion or exhaustion;
• increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job; and
• reduced professional efficacy.

How might this look in every day life, including burnout caused by other factors other than work?

Posting to TikTok, Dr Julie Smith said the first sign, is that you have become disconnected from the people around you.

She explained: “You might be arguing more with your partner or your friends.

“Number two is that you’re procrastinating more than ever and putting off even the smallest of tasks because they now feel overwhelming.”

Dr Smith said the third sign is that your self-care routine has gone out of the window.

The fourth red flag, Dr Smith added, is that you are physically and emotionally exhausted.

“You feel tired, but wired, and you can’t sleep at night,” she added.