Why we feel Mentally Tired without doing anything

Has anyone attended a meditation session as a beginner? If so, you all have certainly gone through a race of thoughts while meditating, which is being told not to think and not to move. In that state, we would sit still, but it gets tough to free ourselves from mental exhaustion. However, it is the only aspect of looking at the causes; it shows how sometimes our mental processes do not run in a balanced way. 

Mental exhaustion means that too much load has been placed on our brains. Cognitive overload can make us feel mentally tired, so in that sense, ‘doing nothing’ can actually create space to uncover other hidden causes of mental exhaustion. (Zhang, 2020) 

What exactly happens in this state? 

We might feel drowsiness, difficulty in concentrating, decreased alertness, disordered thinking, slow reaction, lethargy, reduced work efficiency, error-prone and so on. The physical and mental health are disturbed if these are not treated on time. Feeling mentally tired has not been linked to any physical exhaustion or even a single physical activity, but there are other biological and psychological reasons that we have discussed as follows: 

1. Our brain never chills out 

The phrase ‘when you are thinking, you are doing nothing’ highlights the misconception that the brain is at rest during inactivity, when in fact, it’s still actively working. The brain works even when you are fast asleep. A lot of brain activities happened while sitting still. There is some kind of constant working and, enhancing, memorising, attending tasks going on in the background (Gustavo, 2013). For example, thinking about unfinished tasks, worrying about the past, anticipating about the future. 

Indeed, the brain is like a constant workaholic. If we don’t consciously pause or ‘shut down’ the heavy mental processes, much like closing unused tabs or software on a computer, our mental load keeps increasing. This ongoing strain eventually leads to mental exhaustion, a state referred to in psychology as cognitive overload.

2. Drop by drop, stress accumulates 

Red Cross and Dillon (2023) have discussed what micro stressors are and how to deal with them at workplaces. Micro level stressors are also known as chronic grade stressors, which we often don’t notice in our daily life hassles. For example, a minor disagreement, negative feedback or comment on your post. These small moments of stress have negative effects on the mind in the long run.

3. Procrastination 

Some people act like Niffler, a character in the Fantastic Beasts movie, who has a habit of grabbing shiny things even after his pocket is full. People often store a lot of information in their minds, but when it comes time to take action, they end up procrastinating. Because of the overload of information, confusion is created while making decisions and executing goals.

Read More: Perfectionism, Procrastination and Paralysis

People who procrastinate experience more stress and tend to have high levels of anxiety as well as poor impulse control. Avoiding your insecurities, doubting your abilities, and feeling dissatisfied with your achievements can all contribute to mental exhaustion over time. 

4. Repercussions of workload 

The psychological detachment from your work goals, targets is tough. Living in the moment is necessary to rejuvenate yourself, but some people subconsciously remain under the pressure of deadlines. They were sitting with families, but were not mentally present there. Eventually, they all might end up feeling mentally tired and also enter a cycle of procrastination and stress, anxiety (DeArmond et al., 2014) 

5. Boredom 

Have you enrolled in any boring workshops? We all get bored at any point in time, even if we are engaged in our favourite tasks. Repetition of actions, such as getting a lot of corrections from clients and the absence of creativity or novelty. The lack of meaningful tasks leads to a big pause. That extension of pause creates the gap, and we more often don’t feel charged up to take forward actions. So bored and feeling mentally tired has a connection that can minimise our productivity. 

Read more: The Psychology Behind Boredom

6. Other reasons 

Bad dreams can create mental disturbance for a whole day and haunt you for the rest of the day, even on relaxed Sundays. The unresolved emotions, nutritional deficiencies can also create fatigue.

Conclusion 

We experience mental tiredness even after staying inactive. Hidden or subconscious emotions, little worries, boredom, and workload lead to mental tiredness without taking any physical, purposeful effort. This mental tiredness lowers our ability to self-regulate, organise, be proactive, and also be productive. This all leads to procrastination and feelings of burnout. Psychological rejuvenation and rest through meditation, or mindful exercises, can be utilised to recover from mental exhaustion. It is a gradual process of harming ourselves, and so if we get a better understanding of our inner world, then we’ll work better for our health as well as our mental well-being. 

FAQs 

1. Why do I always feel mentally drained? 

There are many reasons, half of them are unrecognised because we were unaware about them like stress about future actions, regrets about past actions, disturbed sleep quality because of any bad dream. Nutritional deficiencies, workload, quarrels could be the reasons. 

2. How to recharge mentally? 

Improving sleep quality, intake of healthy diet, doing breathing exercises after minor disagreements, living in the moment, not bringing work at home, practice mindfulness, meditating, be optimistic and confident through self-talk or affirmations. 

3. Why am I so tired even though I didn’t do anything? 

Health conditions, depression, anxiety, nutrition deficiency, dehydration, hormonal imbalance, and environmental noise are all big and visible reasons. But boredom, unresolved emotions, disputes, procrastination, and minor stressors are all hidden causes.