‘Understanding How Tiredness and Self-Control Are Mistaken for Resistance’ – Sean D’Souza’s Article

I noticed something very unusual when I went for my 7km walk.
I noticed that as I passed the liquor store, my brain would start
to wander.

And it wasn’t the liquor. It was just the point in my walk.

You see I’d pass the liquor store at about 40 minutes into my walk.
And no matter what I was listening to on my iPhone, I’d find it
hard to concentrate on. Even on days when I was really trying hard
to pay attention, my mind would wander.

So I tried to listen to music instead

Same thing. Around the 40 minute mark, my brain was off for a walk
of its own. And there’s a reason why this happens. It happens
because of the blood flow to your brain. When the brain has to
concentrate on an activity, it fires up its pumps and hey the blood
comes rushing in.

To find out just how much you’re paying attention, University of
Cincinnati researchers tracked mental activity using transcranial
Doppler sonography (TDS). The device measures blood flow velocity
in the brain. Joel Warm, Professor of Psychology at University of
Cincinnati, believes the reading could be an indicator of
sustained, or non-stop, attention, also known as vigilance.

“The velocity goes up, it means that blood is being rushed to an
area to carry away the waste product.

The more mental activity, the more the waste product,” he says.
During various 40-minute tests, researchers saw a decrease in
blood-flow velocity over time, and, therefore, a decrease in
attention.

“Sometimes in the first 10 minutes,” Warm says. “That early.” And
he says many times the participants didn’t realise it was happening.

What this means is simply that our brains can’t sustain the intense
pressure

But it depends. If the brain has to tackle stuff that is well
within our comfort zone and mildly challenging, it will hold out
for a lot longer. But if we’re learning something new, or doing
something that is challenging, the brain feels the intensity. And
after a while it just needs a break. In everyday terms this break
is often termed as exhaustion.

We don’t know why we’re feeling so drained, but drained we are.

And of course, we don’t want to appear lazy, so instead of taking a
break, we soldier on. And the brain doesn’t co-operate. Which is
when you find yourself checking email, hovering endlessly on
Facebook and doing activity that tires you even further.

You’re not dealing with good ol’ resistance here. You’re dealing
with a brain that just can’t function at that level. And of course,
the more you push it the more resistance you feel.

But it gets worse

Just focusing on a task is hard enough. But when this focus has to
be run over the term of a project, we have to put in tremendous
self-control. And as you accurately guessed, self-control is
extremely draining. And the reason it’s so draining is because
self-control seems to be in limited supply.

So if you’re on a weight-loss diet AND completing an article that
needs to meet a deadline, you need twice the self-control. If you
add another factor to that list, you would need thrice as much
self-control–and so on. So if you use up self-control completing
the presentation, you’re more than likely to chew on the chocolate
cookies–despite the diet.

What seems like resistance is really a factor of exhaustion

What seems to be a factor of giving into resistance is actually
just an inability for the brain to sustain continuous control over
the situation. Not only is it battling with tiredness, but the
self-control is adding another level of intensity.

Something has to give. And that’s when you officially lose the
plot. That’s when you think you’ve lost the battle to resistance.

Which is why rest matters

Every 40 minutes or so, you need to take a break from what you’re
doing. On a day to day level that helps you prevent this endless
back and forth bounce between Facebook and back. But remember
what’s also happening when you’re resisting Facebook.

You’re using up your self-control.

You actually like ambling around checking what’s happening around
the Internet. So don’t resist the Facebook temptation. Give in to
it. Allocate a fixed amount of time, e.g. 5-10 minutes doing
something that makes you happy. Then when your ten minutes are up,
and you’ve had a bit of a rest, go back to what you’re doing.

But surely no one has time to take these crazy breaks all the time

No one does. And that’s the point. Your brain is going to stop
being attentive. And though you may be sitting at your computer
pounding away at the keyboard, it’s not going to do an hour’s worth
of work in an hour. It’s going to do just 20-30 minutes.

And then it’s going to have drop outs in your attention. As it gets
more tired, you get more inattentive. By the second hour, you’re
pretty much drooping.

But if you took the break, and don’t constantly strain the leash on
your self-control, you give your brain it so richly deserves. That
blood-flow velocity reduces naturally. And you’re more refreshed to
take on the next hour, and the next and the next.

When I’d go for my walks past the liquor store, I’d fight my brain.

I’d want to keep concentrating. But now I don’t. I realise that I’m
fighting two pitched battles: tiredness and self-control. And if I
just play along with my brain’s natural rhythms, I stand to learn
more and achieve more–while still resting more. And what’s more, I
don’t feel bad that I’m just giving in to resistance.

Interesting, huh?