Dr Michelle Dickinson: Nanogirl on why desk jobs can be just as tiring as manual labour

This week we are going to talk about why desk jobs might be just as exhausting as manual labour jobs! 

Published this week in the journal Current Biology.

the research looked into why we can come home from the office feeling exhausted even though all we have done is sit at a desk all day. 

The study split 40 volunteers into two groups and gave them thinking tasks to do for 6.5 hours straight with only two 10 minute breaks in that period. 

One group was given easy thinking tasks, the other group difficult thinking tasks. 

During this time the researchers used a technique called magnetic resonance spectroscopy to measure the biochemistry in the volunteers brain - specifically the levels of glutamate in a region of the brain called the lateral prefrontal cortex. 

They also measured the dilation of the pupils of the group along the way. 

The study found that the group with the difficult thinking tasks accumulated more glutamate in their brain by the end of the day and their pupils dilated less - both measures suggests fatigue. 

Glutamate buildup has been shown to affect your ability to make decisions as you become more and more fatigued. 

Intetestingly, when asked to self reflect on how tired they were both groups scored themselves at the same fatigue level, suggesting that we aren't very good at assessing how tired we are or when we need to take a break. 

The researchers are now looking into methods that will help the brain to recover from this mental exhaustion, which could include napping, chilling watching netflix or taking a walk outside in nature.   

This information could help to provide guidance for those working in high-stakes mental work such as surgeons or air traffic controllers where even a short loss of focus could be potentially fatal. 

The main learning is that both office jobs and manual labour jobs can be just as exhausting for your body in different ways. 

 

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