https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-02161-5 Skip to main content Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript. Advertisement Advertisement Nature * View all journals * Search * Log in * Explore content * About the journal * Publish with us * Subscribe * Sign up for alerts * RSS feed 1. nature 2. news 3. article * NEWS * 11 August 2022 Why thinking hard makes us feel tired Difficult tasks can lead to build-up of a signalling molecule in the brain, triggering fatigue. * Heidi Ledford 1. Heidi Ledford View author publications You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar * Twitter * Facebook * Email Access through your institution Buy or subscribe It's not just in your head: a desire to curl up on the couch after a day spent toiling at the computer could be a physiological response to mentally demanding work, according to a study that links mental fatigue to changes in brain metabolism. Access options Access through your institution Access through your institution Change institution Buy or subscribe Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription $29.99 / 30 days cancel any time Learn more Subscribe to this journal Receive 51 print issues and online access $199.00 per year only $3.90 per issue Learn more Rent or buy this article Prices vary by article type from$1.95 to$39.95 Learn more Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout Additional access options: * Log in * Learn about institutional subscriptions * Read our FAQs * Contact customer support doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-02161-5 References 1. Wiehler, A., Branzoli, F., Adanyeguh, I., Mochel, F. & Pessiglione, M. Curr. Biol. https://doi.org/10.1016/ j.cub.2022.07.010 (2022). 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Bombshell study says not yet * [d41586-022] The COVID generation: how is the pandemic affecting kids' brains? * Brain's chemical signals seen in real time Subjects * Psychology * Neuroscience Advertisement Sign up to Nature Briefing An essential round-up of science news, opinion and analysis, delivered to your inbox every weekday. Email address [ ] [ ] Yes! Sign me up to receive the daily Nature Briefing email. I agree my information will be processed in accordance with the Nature and Springer Nature Limited Privacy Policy. Sign up * Close Nature Briefing Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter -- what matters in science, free to your inbox daily. Email address [ ] Sign up [ ] I agree my information will be processed in accordance with the Nature and Springer Nature Limited Privacy Policy. Close Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. 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