People often feel stressed when they are mentally challenged, so why do we still love Sudoku and crosswords so much?
Sudoku can make you feel good Photo: pakawadee/imago
Thinking helps. Not only that, but thinking can stimulate, develop, and inspire us. Why do people often so adamantly reject these benefits?
research
In the meta-analysis, researchers combined the results of 170 studies involving 4,760 subjects. Some of the participants were students, others were athletes or medical professionals. They came from 29 countries and, depending on the study, faced a variety of tasks, from cognitive performance tests to flight simulations to virtual reality jailbreaks.
Finally, all subjects were asked two questions, roughly translated as: “How hard did you have to work to do this task?” and “How anxious, discouraged, irritated, stressed, or annoyed did you feel?”
Researchers found a strong link between mental effort and depression. In an attempt to understand whether this applies to everyone, researchers looked at a number of possible influencing factors, but most were unsuccessful. Gender, age, and school qualifications played no role. The duration of the work, whether it was realistic or group-based, physically demanding, or particularly sedentary, had little effect.
Only one factor had a significant impact on the statistics: in Asian countries, the association between activity and bad mood was not as strong as in North America and Europe.
What’s the point?
So the idea is imposition. But why do we sometimes enjoy doing Sudoku or crossword puzzles? It’s because of the need for cognitive stimulation, the “need for cognition.” Researchers speculate that people who are often rewarded for their intellectual effort will eventually find the effort itself rewarding. Moreover, rewards, from bonus points to self-esteem to recognition, can be the reason we enjoy doing something despite all the effort.
On the other hand, other studies of stress hormones have shown that thrills stimulate, stimulate, and make us feel good, at least until they overwhelm us. When test subjects describe a task as “hard work,” it may simply mean that they have long since reached a tipping point where they are overly stressed.
Either way, the results remind us that what tires us out is not just physical exertion, but also mental. We need to be generous with the breaks we allow ourselves, whether it’s getting some fresh air, scrolling through our phones, or grabbing a quick coffee in the office kitchen. Once we feel empowered again, we can rethink the concept of an eight-hour workday and school day.
