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Since the pandemic hit, we’ve been using more digital tools to work longer hours, creating a cognitive load that’s tough on our brains. How do we fix that?

疫情衝擊，在利用科技延長工時所創造出更多的認知負荷量也對腦部造成負擔。該如何改善呢？

URL: https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20210423-is-there-an-antidote-to-digital-intensity 

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During a virtual meeting, with multiple participants in little boxes, our brains try to process each participant individually, listen, comprehend and take in visual cues. Even before you start trying to focus on the meeting’s agenda, your brain is working overtime. “You might not be aware of it consciously,” says Bohan, “but just working on a screen puts this huge cognitive overhead on your brain.” 

每個視訊會議人在小小的方框裡，我們的大腦需要針對個別的與會者處裡訊息，包含聆聽、理解並接收視覺。在你還沒來的及仔細看會議的報告事項，你的大腦就已經在加班了。Bohan說「你應該不會意識到。」「光是在螢幕上操作對大腦來說就已經是認知超載了。」

The more meetings there are, the worse it gets. In one study, Bohan and his research team observed people’s brain activity during a series of simulated virtual meetings. They tracked how often the participants produced alpha waves – which appear in brains at rest – and beta waves, which appear when the brain is hard at work. What they saw was a nearly endless string of beta waves over the course of a day of meetings. “At the end of the day, that build-up of beta waves was strongly associated with people feeling exhausted and anxious,” says Bohan. 

會議越多狀況越糟。Bohan和他的研究團隊在觀察模擬視訊會議中參與者的大腦活動。他們記錄了與會者大腦產生的Alpha波-表示大腦在休息狀態；和Beta波-表示大腦在辛苦運轉中。而一天的會議行程後，研究團隊看到的是幾乎不間斷的Beta波紋。Bohan說明「累績了一天的Beta波與疲勞和焦慮的感受有高度相關。」

Meetings aren’t the only problem, however. Your brain produces beta waves anytime you’re processing a lot of information at once – in other words, almost anytime you’re staring at a screen. And after a period of sustained beta-wave production, your brain’s processing starts to slow down. The more you try to push through to get all the work done, the harder that becomes to do. 

但是，會造成以上的狀況不只有會議。大腦在一次處裡過多訊息時就會產生Beta波；換句話說，盯著螢幕的每分每秒都是。接著，大腦在經過一段製造Beta波後，腦部處裡效率就會開始下降。所以越想一次做完所有工作，反而會覺得越做越困難。

Short-term fixes 短期的改善

The good news is that something as simple as a 10-minute break, if used correctly, can help mitigate the effects of digital intensity. Breaking up long stretches of meetings or on-screen work can help with beta wave build-up. 

好消息是簡單如10分鐘的休息-如果使用得當的話，就可以減緩數位強度帶來的感受。縮短漫長的會議或線上工作有助於防止Beta波累績。

“If you give yourself a break, and do something like meditation, reading, sketching, doodling – anything that turns your brain to something more relaxing,” says Bohan, it will begin to produce alpha waves. After the break, “you’ll be more engaged and focused”, he adds. “Taking breaks lets you reset, and maintain better brain health across the day.”

Bohan表示「如果好好休息一下，做些能讓大腦稍微放鬆的事；例如冥想、閱讀、速寫、插畫等等。」就可以讓大腦開始產生Alpha波。在這樣的休息過後，Bohan補充「你能夠更參與其中；更專心。」「有效的休息能夠好好整頓自己，維持一整天理想的腦部狀態。」

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