10 Mindless Habits That Are Secretly ExhaustingYou

李玫安

1. Watching emotionally charged television shows

One of the ways binge—watching emotionally charged TV shows can lead to mental exhaustion is through temporarily imagining yourself experiencing the same feelings and events of a specific character.

In excess， however， sustained high-intensity emotions， positive or negative， can result in a state of heightened arousal and overstimulation， ultimately leading to mental fatigue， difficulty focusing and poor energy levels.

2. Waiting too long between meals

The body scores energy from the foods we eat， and relies on a steady supply of it. This backup energy supply only lasts about three to six hours， so going too long without food sets off biological and psychological mechanisms that turn on our eating drive—usually， this can lead to strong cravings for processed carbs， which are foods with a highglycemic load.

“As we eat more carbs， especially simple ones， our insulin levels climb，”nutritional psychologist Uma Naidoo said.“Once our insulin levels peak after eating， our blood sugar can subsequently crash and lead to a distinct feeling of being physically drained.”

3. Working at a messy desk

Working in a cluttered environment may increase distractibility and inattentiveness. The result？ Tasks take longer to complete， requiring you to use up more mental focus and energy over time.

4. Planning too far in advance

Being constantly exposed to a full calendar of obligations can cause an uptick in anticipatory anxiety and adversely affect working memory and processing speed.

This can impede your ability to remain mindful and efficiently complete tasks in the moment， resulting in poor motivation and mental exhaustion.

5. Having too many tabs open

Not only are you overwhelming your laptops battery by having 25 tabs open， youre putting your brain into overdrive too.

“Bouncing from tab to tab gives your ego the misconception youre getting an incredible amount of work done，”said Rana Mafee， chief neurologist at Case Integrative Health in Chicago.“In reality， youre not fully processing anything youre trying to efficiently consume.”

6. Leaving off in the wrong spot

Thanks to things like time constraints and incessant interruptions， its not uncommon to find yourself setting aside half-completed tasks in order to deal with something urgent thats come up or has to take priority.

A small piece of your attention is left with the unfinished task， known as attention residue.

When you experience attention residue， your brain is working overtime by thinking about the task youre now on， as well as ruminating about the previous task you had to leave unfinished.

If you do have to stop work on a task prematurely， you can decrease the amount of attention residue by writing down the specifics of whats left to finish. This can help decrease rumination and allow you to clear your mind.

7. Slouching

“Poor posture can deplete your energy levels by putting more pressure on your bodys muscles， joints and ligaments，”said Naueen Safdar， medical director at EHE Health.“Your body has to use more energy to compensate， leading to fatigue.”

8. Taking shallow breaths

Even though breathing is thought of as an unconscious activity， we tend to breathe incorrectly when we have a lot on our mind.

“Shallow breathing reduces the amount of oxygen the body takes in and the amount that can be transported in the blood to our organs and cells for optimal function，”Naidoo said. It can also trigger pathways in the brain that exacerbate anxiety and trigger fatigue.

Any time you notice yourself feeling particularly tense or stressed， use that as your cue to take several deep breaths to combat shallow breathing.

9. Letting little tasks pile up

Texting someone back. Changing a lightbulb. Booking your pets wellness visit. The cumulative mental load of unintentionally stockpiling tiny tasks like these can be distracting and mentally draining.

“Even manageable duties start to feel overwhelming and suffocating due to their sheer number，”psychiatrist Tyson Lippe said.

“The constant and unsolicited‘I should do task Xthoughts also creates a sense of shame and buildup of anticipatory anxiety.”

Ideally， any task that takes less than five minutes should be done right away， as its the most energy-efficient option—but when this isnt practical， dont rely on memory.

“Immediately write it down on a to- do list，”Lippe said.“This strategy provides peace of mind and reassurance that it will be dealt with eventually.”

10. Not dimming the lights at night

Exposure to bright lights at night signals its still daytime to the brain.“This inhibits the brains release of melatonin， a sleep-promoting hormone，”Lippe said.“This can disturb the sleep- wake cycle and lead to insomnia， poor sleep quality and fatigue.”

1.追劇追得太投入

一集接一集地看牽動(dòng)人心的電視劇會(huì)讓你精神疲憊，因?yàn)槟阍谧穭∵^程中會(huì)想象自己也在經(jīng)歷劇中人物的情感糾葛。

但是，追劇太投入會(huì)讓你一直處于強(qiáng)烈的情緒之中，無論是正面還是負(fù)面的情緒都會(huì)導(dǎo)致你過于興奮和激動(dòng)，最終讓你變得萎靡、難以集中注意力、精疲力盡。

2.兩餐之間間隔太久

身體從我們吃的食物中汲取能量，需要一日三餐的穩(wěn)定供應(yīng)。每餐所供應(yīng)的能量大約只能維持3到6小時(shí)，因此太長時(shí)間不吃東西會(huì)觸發(fā)生理和心理機(jī)制讓我們食欲大增，這種情況下我們通常會(huì)特別想吃精制碳水化合物，也就是那些高血糖指數(shù)食物。

營養(yǎng)心理學(xué)家烏馬·奈杜說：“當(dāng)我們攝入了更多碳水化合物，尤其是單一的碳水化合物后，我們的胰島素水平就會(huì)上升。一旦胰島素水平達(dá)到頂峰，我們的血糖水平就會(huì)下降，從而引發(fā)明顯的疲倦感?！?/p>

3.辦公桌太亂

在一個(gè)凌亂的環(huán)境中工作會(huì)讓你更容易分心和走神。結(jié)果就是，你需要花更長時(shí)間才能完成任務(wù)，在這一過程中不得不強(qiáng)迫自己集中注意力，從而消耗更多能量。

4.過早地計(jì)劃好一切

總是要面對(duì)一大堆待辦事項(xiàng)會(huì)增加你的預(yù)期性焦慮，并對(duì)你的工作記憶和處理速度產(chǎn)生負(fù)面影響。

這會(huì)妨礙你專心高效地完成當(dāng)前的任務(wù)，并會(huì)導(dǎo)致你動(dòng)力不足、精神疲憊。

5.打開的標(biāo)簽頁太多

同時(shí)打開25個(gè)標(biāo)簽頁不僅會(huì)讓你的電腦電池不堪重負(fù)，還會(huì)讓你的大腦也超負(fù)荷運(yùn)轉(zhuǎn)。

芝加哥病例綜合健康機(jī)構(gòu)的首席神經(jīng)學(xué)家拉娜·瑪菲說：“從一個(gè)標(biāo)簽頁切換到另一個(gè)標(biāo)簽頁會(huì)給你一種自己做了很多事的錯(cuò)覺。事實(shí)上，你是貪多嚼不爛。”

6.活兒干到一半就放下

由于時(shí)間限制和紛至沓來的干擾等因素，你常常發(fā)現(xiàn)自己活兒干到一半就不得不放下，去處理更緊急或優(yōu)先級(jí)更高的事務(wù)。

每一個(gè)未完成的任務(wù)都牽動(dòng)著你的一小部分注意力，稱作“注意力殘留”。

當(dāng)你出現(xiàn)注意力殘留的情況時(shí)，你的大腦正在超負(fù)荷運(yùn)轉(zhuǎn)，既要想著眼下的任務(wù)，又要考慮你之前做了一半的任務(wù)。

如果不得不停下手頭的活兒，你可以將這項(xiàng)任務(wù)的待辦細(xì)節(jié)寫下來，從而減少注意力殘留。這樣做有助于減少你對(duì)上一個(gè)任務(wù)的思慮，摒除大腦的雜念。

7.懶散的坐姿

EHE健康機(jī)構(gòu)的醫(yī)療總監(jiān)瑙因·薩夫達(dá)爾說：“不良坐姿會(huì)增加你的肌肉、關(guān)節(jié)和韌帶受到的壓力，從而大量消耗你的精力。你的身體不得不用更多能量來彌補(bǔ)，進(jìn)而引發(fā)疲勞感?！?/p>

8.呼吸短淺

盡管呼吸被視作一種無意識(shí)的行為，但是當(dāng)我們煩心事太多時(shí)，我們往往會(huì)采用不正確的呼吸方式。

奈杜說：“淺呼吸會(huì)減少身體吸入的氧氣量，以及可以通過血液輸送到器官和細(xì)胞以優(yōu)化功能的氧氣量?！睖\呼吸還會(huì)觸發(fā)加劇焦慮和引發(fā)疲勞感的大腦神經(jīng)通路。

無論何時(shí)，如果你注意到自己特別緊張或壓力很大，就做幾個(gè)深呼吸來對(duì)抗淺呼吸的危害。

9.讓雜事堆積成山

給某人回短信。換燈泡。給寵物預(yù)約體檢。像這種無意間堆積的雜事會(huì)讓人分心，耗費(fèi)腦力。

精神病學(xué)家泰森·利珀說：“因?yàn)閿?shù)量眾多，即使是好辦的雜事也讓人感到不堪重負(fù)和窒息?！?/p>

“這種應(yīng)該做某事的想法不由自主地持續(xù)涌上心頭，讓人產(chǎn)生羞愧感和預(yù)期性焦慮。”

理想狀態(tài)下，任何5分鐘內(nèi)能解決的雜事都應(yīng)該立即去辦，這也是最高效節(jié)能的選擇。但是如果立即去辦不符合實(shí)際情況，也不要用腦子強(qiáng)記。

利珀說：“應(yīng)該立刻寫在待辦清單上。這一策略能讓人安心并確保這些雜事最后能搞定?！?/p>

10.晚上把燈開得很亮

夜晚暴露在明亮的燈光下會(huì)讓大腦誤以為還是白天。利珀說：“這將抑制大腦分泌促進(jìn)睡眠的褪黑激素，擾亂睡眠——覺醒周期，導(dǎo)致失眠、睡眠質(zhì)量差和疲倦感?！?/p>