Why Do We Feel Lazy?
Written by Pooja Gopinathrao
I hate when I catch myself being lazy and wasting time. It makes me question how even if I want to physically cross off everything on my list, my brain just resorts to boredom and ennui. So what is “lazy”? When you think about it, your brain is lazy! It takes up more energy than any other organ, proportional to its weight.
However, scientifically, our brains naturally are on the “battery mode” ; they always conserve energy. They always take the easiest way possible to avoid too much effort. This basically means we are more inclined to choose any tasks that require less amounts of energy. This also applies to anything that has an immediate effect or reward. This is just how we think, it's in our evolutionary history. This “battery mode” is influenced by things like motivation, dopamine levels, and the state of your prefrontal cortex. Dopamine levels are the amount of neurotransmitters in the brain. They give us the feelings of pleasure, reward, motivation, and that "feel-good" chemical. Your prefrontal cortex is what makes each of us uniquely different, and is also for planning, decision making, and working memory. When we have to do repetitive tasks or tasks that have a lot of information, our brains may just resort to not doing the task or choosing to do the easiest task. Another cause is also when not enough dopamine is released. It causes us to feel lazy and have less of a “drive” in us.
There are many factors that affect laziness. To start, age is a big one. As the brain is still developing, the prefrontal cortex isn’t fully matured enough to completely make decisions, plan, concentrate, and do other things on a to-do list. In fact, a prefrontal cortex doesn’t even fully develop till a person is 20 years old!
Now, people always relate laziness to procrastinating without realizing that procrastination is actually a coping mechanism for laziness. However, as it slowly becomes a habit, we start to become used to just avoiding all these major or energy consuming problems. So, it gets hard to get rid of procrastination. Procrastination can come from both the lack of energy and sleep. Without sleep, it becomes hard to focus. Last but not least, distractions are one of the major reasons for procrastination. Scrolling on social media, our phones, the internet, notifications, and other distractions all cause you to procrastinate leading you to “feel” lazy.
So far, it has been touched upon that “laziness” is something that we all face and isn’t necessarily bad for us. However, when it comes to procrastination, there is lots of evidence that it leads to lowered self-confidence and anxiety (among many other problems). Eventually, affecting your self-perception. So, how do we face it? First, prioritize and go easy on yourself. See what is important and go from there. Remember it's how much you CAN do not how much you MUST do. Slowly, getting into a routine will help eliminate procrastination. Lastly, remember to take breaks (reasonably) and be positive. Sure, you might have not been productive for the [ast few hours, but you can start now!
References:
Are you often termed lazy? blame your brain, says science. The Economic Times. (n.d.). https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/are-you-often-termed-lazy-blame-your-brain-says-science/articleshow/65871553.cms?from=mdr#google_vignette
Laziness: How to stop being lazy - and what causes it. EverydayHealth.com. (n.d.) https://www.everydayhealth.com/emotional-health/all-about-laziness-what-causes-it-and-what-to-do-about-it/
Your brain is Lazy. solving the people problems that derail tech consulting projects. (2023, June 5). https://www.gracejudson.com/your-brain-is-lazy/
Written by Pooja Gopinathrao from MEDILOQUY