Doctors have highlighted a little-known fatigue syndrome that appears in good weather. This fatigue can become deeply rooted in the body unless we follow this rule…
Do you feel “empty” for no apparent reason? March is often the month of breakups. Between the change of season, managing the end of the first trimester and the accumulation of daily micro-decisions, the brain is saturated. It’s not just an impression: at this time of year, our vitamin reserves are at their lowest and the time change that is coming (last weekend in March) acts like an upheaval on our biological clock. Result ? Studies estimate that this accumulated mental load can cut our overall energy levels by 20% on average, making even the simplest task suddenly insurmountable.
This phenomenon has a scientific name: decision fatigue. Brought to light in 2011 by social psychologist Roy F. Baumeister, this concept is based on the idea that our will is a limited resource, a sort of “muscle” which becomes exhausted through overuse. Each of our choices, from the most basic (what to eat tonight?) to the most complex (choosing your vacation destination, requesting a transfer, etc.), consumes what we call mental glucose, in other words fuel for the brain.
“The brain processes around 35,000 decisions per day. Come spring, if stress has not been regulated since January, this accumulation of “choices” becomes painful, leading to avoidance or irritability“, explains psychiatrist Aurélia Schneider, specialist in behavioral and cognitive therapy, in her book “The mental load of women (and that of men too!)“. Avoidance is a survival strategy of the brain: as each decision costs “mental glucose”, the brain saturates and decides not to decide anything at all to save the remaining energy. Irritability causes patience to collapse: when your “tank” is empty, you no longer have the energy necessary to filter your reactions. A simple question from your partner or a colleague (“What are we eating this evening?” or “Have you finished this file?”) is perceived as aggression or an insurmountable burden.
She also specifies that this fatigue is all the more insidious because it forces us to “coexist in two worlds at the same time”: that of present action and that of permanent anticipation. It is also important to understand that although this fatigue is initially mental, it ends up becoming deeply rooted in the body. By saturating our prefrontal cortex, it triggers chronic stress which physically results in muscle tension, disrupted sleep and a feeling of real exhaustion, as if we had exerted an intense sporting effort without having moved. To avoid letting this month of March drain your batteries, it is essential to put conservation strategies in place now.
The key to limiting decision fatigue is automation. This starts with reducing your choices in the morning. Concretely, prepare your clothes and your meals the day before so as not to waste your energy quota upon waking up. Also apply the 2-minute rule: if a decision can be made immediately (reply to a short email, tidy up a file), do so because it frees up space in your working memory. Finally, protect your mornings and deal with your most complex files before 11 a.m., because after lunch, your ability to decide drastically decreases. By limiting these micro-frictions, you protect your energy capital for what really matters.
