‘Our faith in doctors turned out to be fatal. This is what I wish I’d known’
‘Our faith in doctors turned out to be fatal. This is what I wish I’d...

Amanda Cassidy

My Career: Head of marketing Íde O’Brien
My Career: Head of marketing Íde O’Brien

Ide O'Brien

How I dress the part: Orna Holland, Global Lead Staffing for Stripe
How I dress the part: Orna Holland, Global Lead Staffing for Stripe

IMAGE

Hyper-parenting: Are busier kids better kids?
Hyper-parenting: Are busier kids better kids?

Amanda Cassidy

This vintage-filled Belfast apartment was once part of a military hospital
This vintage-filled Belfast apartment was once part of a military hospital

Lizzie Gore-Grimes

48 hours in Belfast: A weekend with it all
48 hours in Belfast: A weekend with it all

Sarah Gill

Supper Club: Delicious posh potatoes
Supper Club: Delicious posh potatoes

Meg Walker

This Kerry cottage has been brought back to life, and given a jaw-dropping new addition
This Kerry cottage has been brought back to life, and given a jaw-dropping new addition

Lizzie Gore-Grimes

Kate Grant: ‘I wish I could tell my younger self to believe in myself’
Kate Grant: ‘I wish I could tell my younger self to believe in myself’

Lawson Mpame And Itchey Drew

Social Pictures: Harvest Moon Gala Ball at Killruddery House & Gardens
Social Pictures: Harvest Moon Gala Ball at Killruddery House & Gardens

Sarah Gill

Image / Editorial

Yes, Your Brain Is More ‘Sleepy’ During Winter


By Jeanne Sutton
16th Feb 2016
Yes, Your Brain Is More ‘Sleepy’ During Winter

Don’t know about you, but we’ve been very foggy folk of late. Waking up has been a struggle and we seem to only be able to process episodes of The Good Wife, never mind all those election debates. Can’t cope. Our brains can’t deal when the air outside is cutting our faces like daggers.

Turns out this sluggish brain activity we’ve been experiencing might actually be caused by science, and not just a general ughhhhh at life while we wait for summer.

A study from Rockefeller University and published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests that our brains behave differently depending on the time of the year. Our brain waves have seasons, essentially. In the study, 28 people were asked to perform two types of cognitive tasks and different times of the year. Each person was attached to a brain scanner while they performed a ‘sustained attention task? – this was pressing a button as soon as a stopwatch went off. Same process with the ?working memory task? where people had to look at a series of letters and discern if the same consonant was being repeated. For each task, ?performance? remained the same throughout the year. However, ?brain activity? differed. Some times of the year requires more mental effort.

For the button task – ‘sustained attention? – brain activity was higher in the summer and lowest in the winter. For the ?working task? brain activity peaked in the autumn and was lowest in spring. The researchers think this may have something to do with neurotransmitters in the brain and how serontonin levels are higher in the summer and dopamine rises in the autumn.

We’re not remotely scientists, and while it doesn’t seem like winter sluggishness has found it’s lightening bolt of existence in this study, it is interesting that our attention isn’t sharpest during the winter. So next time a co-worker calls you out on being dopey, hit him or her up with some, ?Well, there’s actually a study??

Via The Science of Us