Tag: brain

  • Why Am I Always Tired in the Afternoon?

    Why Am I Always Tired in the Afternoon?

    Why do we get tired in the afternoon? Most of the time, we arrive at work in good physical shape. Because we are mentally and physically robust, even challenging labor is not a problem for us. However, after the lunch break is through, things often take on a quite different appearance. We are so full that on occasion, our eyes will shut during the team meeting. And we will find that we are unable to focus on the lengthy explanations that the manager is providing. But why do we hit a wall of exhaustion around lunchtime?

    It is very common practice in many parts of the globe to sleep for a few hours in the afternoon. People are able to rest and replenish their energy levels as a result of this. On the other hand, taking a nap in the middle of the day is considered pretty rude in many other cultures. There are very few individuals who, particularly in their professional lives, have the chance to get enough sleep. Either there is a lack of time, a space with sufficient privacy, or just an absence of social acceptability inside the organization. It’s common for people to feel tired in the middle of the day.

    The hands on the internal clock are moving

    Many sleep researchers working in the modern era operate on the assumption that taking a nap during the middle of the day is beneficial and fulfills a natural need. This is due to the fact that our body’s internal clock naturally causes us to feel a little lethargic in the middle of the morning and early afternoon. Even the most knowledgeable scientists do not yet have a definitive answer to the question of why it is that humans feel the need to sleep.

    However, in addition to our body’s internal clock, there are other logical variables that contribute to an increase in sleepiness, particularly around the time that we eat lunch. Lunch is one of the reasons. The digestion of a meal that contains a lot of carbohydrates involves a significant amount of energy expenditure by the body. After that, we don’t have the energy for cerebral exercise. One other possibility is that the body could be missing something essential, such as oxygen or movement.

    Deep slumber or power napping

    However, one thing that is abundantly obvious is the fact that giving in to exhaustion in a healthy way is extremely beneficial. A number of studies suggest that taking a nap in the middle of the day has a beneficial impact on the cardiovascular system. While others have seen an increase in both physical and mental fitness as a result of taking naps. 

    It is thus advisable to take a power nap in order to overcome the slump that occurs around the middle of the day. On the other hand, this does not imply that you should take a long sleep; rather, it refers to a brief time of relaxation lasting no more than 20 minutes. This would have a calming impact on us while also enhancing our performance.

    It is essential that we do not enter a state of deep sleep. Since this makes it more difficult to awaken and causes the sleep phase to have a tendency to have an impact that is antagonistic to its intended purpose. A lengthy nap may also cause problems falling or staying asleep throughout the night.

    When there are children involved, the scenario is substantially altered. They have a propensity to sleep more deeply and for a longer period of time during the noon hours. In point of fact, naps are very comparable to sleep that occurs throughout the night. Youngsters that get enough sleep are better able to integrate the information they have learned, and this contributes to emotional steadiness as well.

    Getting back to the awake state

    Even if you are unable to take a power nap at work, there are still a few things you can do to help your body transition back into an awake state. After all, environmental factors also play a role in the development of weariness. Proper ventilation is essential, particularly in enclosed spaces like workplaces, to ensure that there is sufficient oxygen in the air.

    You may choose to consume meals that include more proteins as opposed to foods that are highly loaded in calories and fat. These are simpler to digest while providing the necessary amount of fuel. We may get back in shape by participating in sports or going for a brief stroll. Fresh air, physical activity, and sufficient sunlight—all of which contribute to our fitness and affect how often we get tired in the afternoon.

  • Why Do So many People Drink Alcohol?

    Why Do So many People Drink Alcohol?

    Drinking alcohol has been ingrained in the social fabric of many societies and is a regular practice during social gatherings. In some cultures, drinking beer at the end of the day, sparkling wine for a toast, and maybe even more at the next celebration are examples of this. But why is it that so many individuals like drinking alcohol, despite the fact that they are aware of the risks associated with doing so? And why exactly does drinking make one feel happier?

    Already many thousands of years ago, the use of alcoholic beverages became a custom or a regular cuisine in many cultures. And this pattern will likely continue: Germans are among the heaviest drinkers in the world, with an average annual consumption of more than 10 liters (340 oz) of pure alcohol per person.

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    It is projected that 2.5 million people in Germany will need alcohol addiction treatment in the near future. Up to 40,000 individuals in the country lose their lives each year as a direct result of the effects of drinking too much alcohol.

    The hedonistic indulgence of toxins

    Alcohol is a cytotoxin that is known to cause damage to organs and is associated with an increased risk of a wide variety of disorders. Consuming excessive amounts of alcohol causes damage to brain tissue and disrupts the activities of all organs and the body as a whole. The most common illnesses caused by alcohol use include cirrhosis of the liver, damage to the pancreas, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and other mental disorders.

    Because when alcohol is broken down, the neurotoxin circulates in the body, poisoning it with acetaldehyde, a very dangerous and carcinogenic chemical, and leading to alterations in the brain that are often permanent; this is particularly true in those younger than 25 years old. This is because their brains are still in the process of growing. Long after the effects of dehydration have worn off, the perception will still be hampered, blood sugar levels will be decreased, and the body will continue to battle against the lack of water. In spite of this, a feeling of euphoria is often what is retained in the mind, which creates the risk of developing an addiction.

    Why do so many drink alcohol and what makes alcohol so addictive
    (Credit: Unknown artist)

    Because despite the fact that alcohol is recognized as both a neurotoxin and a drug, it is nevertheless easily accessible in most places and, most importantly, is generally seen to be acceptable by society. Why do so many individuals choose to ignore the dangers associated with this widely used stimulant?

    Interference with the functioning of the brain

    To this day, the consumption of alcohol is still the subject of much debate: on the one hand, alcohol is still a substance that is detrimental to one’s health; on the other hand, some studies show that people who drink alcohol in moderation would live longer than those who do not drink alcohol at all. Another explanation for alcohol’s widespread consumption is that, when a person has developed a tolerance to its bitter flavor, their bodies no longer recognize the threat presented by the neurotoxin since they have gotten acclimated to it.

    The use of alcoholic drinks may have the benefits of lowering tension, bringing about feelings of serenity and euphoria, and removing inhibitions. Some people believe that drinking alcohol is a restful or relaxing activity, particularly after a tough day at work. According to the results of a poll, one in five males said that drinking alcohol helped them relax. In addition, the poll found that around eight percent of the women stated they drink alcohol to unwind. But what might possibly be the cause of this?

    It has been known for a very long time that alcohol has an effect on the brain that causes a person to gaze into their glass more often while they are drinking. This last effect is caused by a shift in the proportion of neurotransmitters in the brain, which are chemical messengers that communicate with the nerve cells. The upbeat mood may be attributed to this process.

    What happens when we drink alcohol?
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    The vast majority of the alcohol we drink goes straight into our bloodstream and is then disseminated all throughout our bodies. Finally, it breaks through the blood-brain barrier and enters the brain, where it causes an increase in the amount of dopamine. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that is essential for the functioning of the reward system. This is due to the fact that our bodies constantly produce a significant quantity of dopamine whenever we achieve success in a certain endeavor, whether it be in a sport, at work, or in a relationship, for example. The same can be said of endorphins, which are messenger molecules that have the effect of making us feel joyful and even euphoric at times. Alcohol stimulates the release of these feel-good endorphins, which, for example, are normally produced while engaging in physical activity.

    The intoxication level of an alcoholic not only alters their state of mind, but also their typical actions and characteristics. People judge distances increasingly inaccurate, lose the ability to focus, their overall speed and coarse motor skills deteriorate, and they show a tendency to overestimate their capabilities.

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    The surroundings are only observed in a hazy manner, and stressful memories and unpleasant experiences are forgotten. Drinking alcohol provides a brief escape from the actual world; for many people, this is a temptation.

  • Are People with Big Brains Smarter?

    Are People with Big Brains Smarter?

    Is it true that having a larger brain makes you smarter? The brain size comparison only makes sense when comparing members of the same species to one another. Nonetheless, brain size has relatively little effect on intelligence; other factors have a far higher influence.

    It has long been assumed that a person’s IQ is proportional to their brain size. It seems natural that the larger the volume of the thinking organ, the more capability it should have for processing information and storing content. But this might not be the case.

    Studies of the brains of different vertebrates demonstrate that it is not quite that simple. The sperm whale has the largest brain. This marine species, however, has an equally large thinking organ due to its vast body mass. So, maybe the brain-to-body mass ratio is more important?

    Thus, the shrew is the vertebrate with the largest brain-to-body mass ratio. But this and other related relationships between body measurements and brain features have already been discovered. Contrary to popular belief, none of these calculations ranked humans first on the neurocharts.

    In general, the species’ relative brain size tells us little about its intelligence or adaptability. This is mostly due to the different sizes and densities of neurons found in different animal species. Human neurons, for example, are more compact and take up less space than neurons in most animal brains. 

    Strange Findings

    Are People with Big Brains Smarter?

    But could varying brain sizes play a role within individual species? A historical occurrence involving Friedrich Schiller’s tomb exemplifies this assumption.

    Before the poet was put to rest in the Weimar royal vault, Goethe, a close friend of the poet, asked that his colleague Schiller be placed next to him. The latter, on the other hand, had died young, and the only information available about his last resting place was that it was somewhere in the so-called Kassengewölbe.

    After futile efforts to match the excavated bones to Schiller’s death mask, it was decided to be the largest skull buried beside Goethe. People of the time believed that the exalted spirit needed a lot of space to contemplate. However, DNA testing performed in the 2000s revealed that none of the bones in “Schiller’s coffin” genuinely belonged to him. As a consequence, his coffin is now empty.

    Not Entirely Inaccurate

    However, the intelligent big skull theory is not entirely inaccurate. The study of the association between skull size and cognitive aptitude started in the early twentieth century.

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    Even if the majority of the study suggested a positive correlation, the early measurements were still quite inaccurate.

    This changed in the 1970s, when imaging tools such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were discovered, allowing researchers to accurately estimate the volume of the human brain while the individual was still alive.

    When comparing individuals within a species, researchers use absolute volume rather than body measures. Using these tools, researchers discovered that disparities in IQ are mostly explained by differences in brain size.

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    According to some of the studies, if there is a four-point difference in IQ between two people, one IQ point may be allocated to the difference in brain size alone.

    That would have a significant effect. Several further studies on the subject have been published, essentially demonstrating a link between intelligence and brain size. However, this only explains one out of every twenty IQ points of variation between two people.

    To put it another way, the size of the thinking organ is merely one of several aspects that contribute to the biological basis of our cognitive abilities.

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    IQ is significantly more strongly connected to how well neurons are networked and how rapidly different brain areas interact with one another than it is to brain size. Thus, the better the gray cells’ wiring, the more effectively they collaborate.