How Brain Rot Impacts Your Mental Health

Have you felt a hazy feeling in your mind, usually followed by a sense of forgetfulness? It becomes tough to focus and your productivity takes a hit. This cognitive decline is a result of something called brain rot. This phenomenon is influenced heavily by how often we use our digital gadgets and feels like we are mentally fried. You would have come across the term “doom scrolling”. When we spend a lot of time-consuming negative news or distressing social media content, we are doom scrolling. It involves consuming a large volume of news, watching multiple reels and obsessively reading the news. We convince ourselves that we are doing these things to stay up-to-date but it is detrimental to our mental health.

Read More: How Brain Rot is silently ruining our lives: A Psychological Perspective

What does brain rot mean?

Coming back to brain rot is a colloquial term that describes the mental fatigue that we experience after extended exposure to activities that we either do mindlessly or passively. The overstimulation we experience during it occurs when we binge-watch shows, or game for extensive hours. Oxford University Press (OUP) named ‘brain rot’ as 2024’s Oxford Word of the Year. The word highlights the rising concern about how consuming excessive media content can be detrimental to our cognitive functioning and mental health.

In what contexts do we experience brain rot?

In this hyperconnected world, it can be experienced in various settings:

1. Media 

The most common form is the media brain rot where media content is overconsumed to the point of feeling drained. Endlessly scrolling through media websites or apps, and playing gaming for hours without a break are all examples of media brain rot. Another example is this that we experience while watching short and addictive videos on apps such as TikTok or YouTube.

2. Fixated Interest 

Have you come across someone who cannot stop obsessively talking about a particular fandom? They are probably experiencing obsessive interest in it. They might get hyper-fixated on a topic of their interest and cannot have trouble discussing any other topics with others. This can also include pop culture or mainstream media including music and art forms.

For example, after watching an anime or a TV show, a person with brain rot will not be able to stop raving about that show for many hours or days. They overanalyze the smallest of details and want to discuss it obsessively with anyone who would listen. Their idea of connecting might involve developing a mindset that is constantly about making inside jokes with their friends about an interest they both obsess over.

Read More: Mental health: The dark side of anime creation

3. Comfort Media 

Do you ever watch ‘Friends’, ‘The Office’, ‘Supernatural’ or any other shows and claim that they are your comfort shows that you can watch on any given day? There is a certain feeling of nostalgia that is invoked while watching a particular show or form of media. This could be a version of brain rot that makes us rewatch and replay the same show, movie, or game to feel a sense of association or familiarity. Sometimes we might even refuse to explore something new due to it. For Example: Revisiting an old game and playing it repeatedly for several hours or days and not taking breaks.  

Read More: The Psychological Impact of the TV Show “Friends”

4. Academic/Professional 

Can brain rot occur in professional or academic contexts? Yes! When we experience burnout due to work or study, it can also result in brain rot. Some of the symptoms of this kind of brain rot include procrastination, trouble paying attention, challenges in academic progress, and decreased productivity at work, for example: Studying for long hours or working on deadlines without rest.

5. Social Media 

Social media apps such as Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and Facebook are all designed to keep us glued to our screens. Have you wondered what happens to our brains when we habitually use social media daily? Our brain gets stuck in a loop of superficial engagement. As time passes, we will find it difficult to shift our focus to more demanding tasks or complex situations which requires us to have more active engagement. Having a stream of notifications coming from our phones gives our brain spikes of dopamine that can disrupt the motivation we need to do significantly complex activities.

How Does Brain Rot Affect Us?

It can impact our mental, psychological and physical health. The following are some of the impacts and consequences brought on by brain rot:

1. Decreased Productivity

• Not able to complete tasks competently.
• Procrastinating and feeling overwhelmed by upcoming deadlines.
• Increased stress or anxiety that leads to poor performance at work or school.

2. Mental Fatigue

• Loss of interest in activities that were previously fun.
• Persistent feelings of mental “fog” or dreariness due to overstimulation.
• Unable to think creatively and struggling to come up with innovative ideas. 

Read More: 10 Subtle Signs of Highly Creative People, According to Psychology 

3. Cognitive Decline

• Critical Thinking abilities are adversely affected 
• Gaps in memory and difficulty in paying attention to details.
• Decision-making and problem-solving tend to be slow or impaired.
• Focusing and completing tasks becomes increasingly challenging.

4. Social Skills

• Tendency to prefer digital communication over interacting in person.
• Self-isolation and weakened social bonds can result in mental health problems. 
• Due to burnout or overstimulation, socializing can be exhausting or difficult to navigate.
• Having engaging and meaningful conversations can prove to be demanding because of reduced social skills. 

5. Psychological Issues

• Strained relationships caused by brain rot can bleed into their social life, at work or school and other avenues. 
• Feelings of restlessness, emptiness and constant exhaustion are common issues faced by someone with brain rot. 
• Due to lack of motivation or interest, people having brain rot are more likely to develop depression and other mental health issues.
• Mood swings or mood dysregulation can occur as there is a lack of contentment.  For example, frustration or anger over trivial matters that they normally wouldn’t react to.

Read More: Coping Strategies for Dealing with Mood Swings

6. Physical Issues

• A sedentary or inactive lifestyle can bring a host of physical health concerns like obesity.
• Mental fatigue caused by overstimulation may keep a person awake and affect their sleep schedule.
• It can affect the fluctuation of our energy levels and take a huge toll on our general physical health.
• Increased risk of having headaches, carpal tunnel syndrome and eyesight problems because of using digital gadgets for extended periods.

Read More: 15 Factors that can Cause Brain Fog

How to Avoid Brain Rot?

Unlike other types of cognitive decline, It is significantly driven by the lifestyle we lead. The effects of it can be reversed if we make cognizant efforts to change our digital habits. The ultimate challenge lies in disputing our beliefs that consuming media is a self-soothing habit and that we cannot function without staying connected to the digital world.  Here are some ways to prevent it from causing mental decline:

• Prioritize maintaining a routine to avoid sleep disturbances and other health concerns.
• Include foods like leafy greens, fish, nuts and berries that can boost your brain and memory power.  
• Make sure to limit your screen time on gadgets to prevent yourself from overstimulating your mind.
• Take plenty of breaks during work, gaming or study sessions to limit burning out because of fatigue.
• Try out new hobbies or avail opportunities that can challenge you and push you out of your comfort zone.  
• To improve your mood and to get your blood circulation going, a sustainable exercise routine can be helpful.
• Reading books is an excellent habit to nurture, as it keeps your mind occupied and open to new information.
• Even 5–10 minutes of practising mindfulness every day can help to improve focus and reduce the effects of overstimulation.
• Keep your mind engaged by doing brain puzzles like Sudoku, Chess, jigsaw puzzles, and word or memory games, to prevent cognitive deterioration.
• Living intentionally and not being addicted to instant gratification can reduce the intensity of brain rot. For example, instead of mindlessly scrolling social media, we can choose a lifestyle that is more physically active.

Read More: Cognitive Training for Mental Health: Insights from Psychologists

Conclusion 

While digital media is just a tool we use, unbridled consumption could turn our minds into a passive or disengaged state. The consequences that it brings can extend from mere distractions to extreme cognitive decline. Studies from modern neuroscience have suggested that chronic overstimulation (which is usually caused by brain rot) can affect neuroplasticity (Our brain’s capacity to learn, adapt and develop new neural pathways or connections.) To keep our minds functioning without it, we need to adopt a more brain-healthy lifestyle and be more mindful of the content we consume daily