But it’s not so simple. Yes, during the performance of mental tasks, more calories are burned than when watching a series. However, against the background of total energy expenditures during the day, this difference is hardly noticeable.
The fact is that basically the body burns calories not due to any exercises, but due to the work of internal organs (in professional athletes, of course, everything is somewhat different). For example, 8-15% is the digestion of food. Another 60-70% goes to other organs. The remaining 15-20% belong to the brain. This means that during a typical day, an average person spends only 320 calories to think .
The brain needs glucose to function properly. Of course, complex cognitive activity requires more calories. According to some studies, during the difficult tasks of memorizing, the brain regions responsible for memory consume more energy. At the same time, the rest of the brain is working normally.
Remember your feelings on a lazy Sunday, when the most difficult thing is to scroll through the Instagram feed? And on weekdays, when you need to do a million insanely interesting (and complex) things? Surely noticed that after a busy weekday fatigue is felt much stronger. These are not your fantasies, the brain really spends more energy on solving complex problems.
Unfortunately, you cannot lose weight by playing chess. No matter what difficult tasks you solve during the day, the energy expenditures required by the brain will vary quite a bit.
This is also confirmed by the words of Marcus Reichl, an American neuroscientist and professor of neurobiology at the University of Washington Medical School: “Basically, these calories will be spent on maintaining the vital functions of the brain, on alertness, the ability to quickly perceive information and other basic functions. This means only one thing: the energy cost of thought is catastrophically small. ”
Ewan McNay of the University of New York at Albany agrees with him: “A person who does complex mental work will burn about 100 calories more than eight hours more than someone who watches TV all day. Even if you are doing something that involves several senses, for example, learning to play a musical instrument, the difference is no more than 200 calories. But only on condition that you will be intensely engaged for eight hours. Unfortunately, there is one thing but: such a high level of mental concentration for such a long period is simply impossible. ”
Yes, high intellectual stress will not help to lose weight, but is there a feeling more pleasant than a slight fatigue after a fruitful working day?
