Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Scientific American: How Making Decisions Tires Your Brain

"These experimental insights suggest that the brain works like a muscle: when depleted, it becomes less effective. Furthermore, we should take this knowledge into account when making decisions. If we've just spent lots of time focusing on a particular task, exercising self-control or even if we've just made lots of seemingly minor choices, then we probably shouldn't try to make a major decision. These deleterious carryover effects from a tired brain may have a strong shaping effect on our lives."

This is required reading for the adults related to my family. Brain fatigue isn't a negative if you're working your brain hard. Olympic athletes get to their world-leading status by continuing to reach (and push back) their fatigue levels. Same with the brain, and my family members push their brains HARD. Compassion and family-awareness demands that we pay attention to this type of research to better relate to each other.

Here's the whole article  [link]

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