Are you the type who, after lunch, around mid-afternoon, almost dies of sleep and fights real battles to keep his eyes open? Know that you are not alone in this fight against the evening trespass, and now you seem to have discovered why this powerful laziness catches us.

Expectations and Rewards

According to Noel Kirkpatrick of Mother Nature Network, Australian researchers conducted a study recently in which they found that an area of ​​the brain associated with the “reward and reinforcement system” has drastically reduced activity in the early afternoon - compared to the level of activity recorded in the morning or evening. The region in question is at the front base of the organ and is called left putamen.

(Swinburne University of Technology, Australia)

But what is this so-called “reward and reinforcement system”? It refers to a group of neurological structures that perform essential functions for survival, providing the motivation necessary for individuals to be able to perform certain actions or behaviors.

This system is composed of emotional, motivational, and cognitive elements that correspond to the pleasure of reward or displeasure caused by punishment, the motivation to obtain reward or avoid punishment, and the learning gained through our experiences.

(Dealer Solutions Magazine)

Well, what does the reward and reinforcement system have to do with the afternoon trespass? According to scientists, this group of brain functions is also governed by the circadian rhythm - that is, our "biological clock" - as well as the hormones responsible for keeping us awake or making us die asleep, and vary during the day.

Little dream

As we mentioned earlier, research pointed out that activity in the left putamen drops dramatically in the afternoon, right? Scientists argue that this is because, probably because of evolutionary issues, our brain is more in anticipation of rewards in the morning and evening - and therefore more awake - than in the afternoon, when it looks better, the brain. which ends up having an effect on our mood.

(The Brunette Diaries)

Hard to understand? To explain the reasoning, the researchers paralleled how we generally respond to two types of birthday parties. When they are surprised, our brains need to work a little harder to contextualize what is happening - after all, we were surprised by the event. However, if it's a scheduled party, as the birthday is expected, our brain doesn't have that much to process.

And where did that come from? According to CNN's Ben Tinker, researchers believe this variation in brain activity may be an evolutionary inheritance from the time when our ancestors were hunter-gatherers - and ventured out during the day to hunt and avoided unnecessary risk at night. .

(The Epoch Times)

Interestingly, understanding how this mechanism works can help scientists determine how the reward and reinforcement system varies throughout the day and use this knowledge not only to help people better plan their routines, but also to develop more effective treatments. for those suffering from various psychological conditions, including bipolar disorder and depression.