“Signs You’re Mentally Exhausted”

 

WHAT IS MENTAL EXHAUSTION? It’s kind of like physical tiredness, except it’s your mind instead of your muscles. It tends to show up when you focus on a mentally tough task for a while. You might also feel this kind of brain drain if you’re always on alert or stressed out. Your job, caring for children or aging parents, and other things can lead to mental exhaustion.

YOU’RE ANGRY OR IMPATIENT: Mental fatigue can put you in a bad mood. You may be short-tempered or irritated, snapping at people more often. It’s harder to control your emotions when you’re mentally tapped out.

YOU CAN’T GET WORK DONE: Everyone’s productivity goes up and down. But mental exhaustion can make it really hard to concentrate. It also saps your motivation. You might get distracted easily or start to miss deadlines. Even small tasks may seem overwhelming.

YOU ZONE OUT: This can look like mind wandering or drowsiness. It makes it hard to pay close attention to what you’re doing, and you may not react to things very fast. That can be dangerous in certain situations, such as driving. Mental fatigue is linked to car wrecks.

YOU DON’T SLEEP WELL: You might think it’d be easier to snooze when your brain is tired. But that’s not always the case. Research shows people who have jobs with a high “cognitive workload” report more symptoms of insomnia than those who don’t have mentally exhausting work. A lack of shut-eye can make mental fatigue worse. Tell your doctor if you can’t sleep or get really tired during the day. Treatment can help.

YOU DO UNHEALTHY THINGS: You may start to drink or use drugs more than normal. Mental fatigue can take an even harder toll on those who already have a substance use disorder. Experts think that’s because drug addiction changes parts of the brain that help you manage stress and control impulsive behavior.

YOU’RE DEPRESSED: You may not have any energy or feel like you’re moving in slow motion. Some people say they feel numb. That can make it hard to finish things at work or do daily activities. Tell your doctor if you have really low feelings or a sense of hopelessness for longer than 2 weeks. That can be a sign your depression is more serious.

YOU WORRY A LOT: Mental fatigue triggers your sympathetic nervous system. That’s your “fight or flight” mode. Anxiety is an alarm that tells you something is wrong. If you’re always mentally exhausted, you might start to feel panicked or worried all the time. That often happens alongside symptoms of depression.

EXERCISE FEELS HARDER: Experts aren’t sure why mental fatigue affects physical activity. Some think your tolerance for exercise might go down. So, it may seem like you’re putting in more effort than you really are.

YOUR EATING HABITS CHANGE: Mental fatigue can affect your appetite in different ways. You may snack more than normal and not pay attention to what you eat. Stress can also make you crave sugary, salty, or fatty foods. Or you may not be hungry at all.

YOU MAKE MORE MISTAKES: It’s impossible for your work to be perfect all the time. But mental fatigue lessens your ability to catch and fix your mistakes quickly or at all. That can cause serious problems in certain jobs, such as ones where you use machines, drive a vehicle, or fly a plane.

YOU FEEL MORE PAIN: Everyone is different, which makes it hard to say how mental fatigue will affect your body. But you might get headaches, sore muscles, back pain, or stomach problems. If you have an ongoing illness, such as fibromyalgia, you may hurt a little bit more than usual.

TAKE BREAKS: You might feel less drained if you take short breaks during long stretches of mental work. There isn’t an exact amount of rest time that works best for everyone. But you may want to recharge for a few minutes every 1-2 hours.

Some people like to use something called the Pomodoro Technique. Here’s how it works:

1. Set a timer for 25 minutes.
2. Focus on one task the whole time.
3. Take a 5-minute break when the timer goes off.
4. After the fourth 25-minute block, take a break for 15-30 minutes.

Repeat until your task is done (or your workday is over).

GET ACTIVE: There’s evidence that you may feel even more energized if you exercise during your breaks. Try some jumping jacks and stretches for a few minutes each. Or go for a 10-15 minute brisk walk.

FIND WAYS TO RELAX: It’s hard to avoid mental exhaustion completely. But you can learn to switch on your body’s natural relaxation response. You can get a massage. Or you can try meditating, yoga, or something as simple as watching a funny movie.  Reach out to friends, family, or a mental health professional if you need more support.

REVIEWED BY: Hansa D. Bhargava, MD, WebMD on February 25, 2021

SOURCES:

Human Factors: “The Role of Motivation as a Factor in Mental Fatigue.”

BMC Neuroscience: “The impact of mental fatigue on brain activity: a comparative study both in resting state and task state using EEG.”

Frontiers in Neurology: “How Physical Activities Affect Mental Fatigue Based on EEG Energy, Connectivity, and Complexity.”

Frontiers in Psychology: “The Relationship Between Burnout, Depression, and Anxiety: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis,” “Informal Caregiver Burnout? Development of a Theoretical Framework to Understand the Impact of Caregiving.”

Mayo Clinic Health Systems: “Emotional exhaustion during times of unrest.”

Mayo Clinic: “Job burnout: How to spot it and take action.”

Emotion: “Mental fatigue impairs emotion regulations.”

BMC Psychology: “Evaluation of the effect of fatigue on the coping behavior of international truck drivers.”

Behavioral Sleep Medicine: “Work-Related Mental Fatigue, Physical Activity and Risk of Insomnia Symptoms: Longitudinal Data from the Norwegian HUNT Study.”

Translational Psychiatry: “Dopaminergic involvement during mental fatigue in health and cocaine addiction.”

PLOS One: “A qualitative exploration of physical, mental and ocular fatigue in patients with primary Sjogren’s Syndrome,” “Fatigue symptoms in relation to neuroticism, anxiety-depression, and musculoskeletal pain. A longitudinal twin study,” “Sustained Attention is Associated with Error Processing Impairment: Evidence from Mental Fatigue Study in Four-Choice Reaction Time Task.” 

Cleveland Clinic: “How Stress Can Make You Eat More — Or Not At All,” “Are You Experiencing Coronavirus Fatigue?” 

Arthritis Care & Research: “The impact of mental fatigue on brain activity: a comparative study both in resting state and task state using EEG,” “Cognitive and Physical Fatigue Tasks Enhance Pain, Cognitive Fatigue and Physical Fatigue in People with Fibromyalgia.”

Behavioral and Brain Functions: “Mental fatigue caused by prolonged cognitive load associated with sympathetic hyperactivity.”

Recruiting & Retaining Adult Learners: “Stay focused and reduce stress while working from home, meeting virtually.”

National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NIH): “The Pomodoro Technique: An Effective Time Management Tool.”

Stress and Health: “Comparison of rest-break interventions during a mentally demanding task.”

National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health: “Relaxation Techniques for Health.”

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