
Can Your Brain Fight Fatigue? - robg
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/15/going-all-out/?ref=magazine
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dryicerx
So the brain is, in a way, executing before the data is available (energy in
this case). _Oh Brain, your level of optimization never fails to amaze me_

I am curious to try this on a group of coders/students. Have 6 groups (Water,
Without Sugar Coffee/Decaf) where half drink it, the other just swish) and see
how they perform. Can also do this with Water and Sugar water. This can
possibly check if the brain control's thinking fatigue the same way it
controls muscle fatigue (as the article talks about).

 _Starts swishing out my coffee. Unfortunately I think the placebo/nocebo
effect on my self will screw up my personal results_

~~~
jrockway
I think the key point here is that the cyclists have all consumed sugary
sports drinks before. Their brain built up the association between taste and
the future availability of energy. I know I feel the effects of morning coffee
before my body has had the chance to actually be affected by the caffeine. (I
haven't tried this with decaf.)

I have also noticed the effects of (mental) training mentioned in the article.
Once you do something, it becomes easy.

A few weeks ago, I got a single-speed bike, and replaced my usual ride on a
geared bike with that. Since there is no way to "be lazy" except to go really
slow, I was pushed to work harder than I normally do. Going back to the geared
bike, my average speed over my usual daily ride increased by like 2 miles an
hour, and has stayed there. It's all in your head. (I don't really make an
effort to train heavily, I ride my bike because it's a nice way to kill and an
hour and not die at the age of 30 from a heart attack. I still seem to pass
everyone else on the road, though.)

~~~
joeyo
I think that's dead on. And that effect is not be too surprising if you
consider some more examples: the smell of cooking bacon can get your stomach
growling and your saliva flowing. Indeed, as Pavlov famously showed, even a
ringing bell can get you salivating after the association is established.

------
ars
See also this: <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=311815> related to how the
brain senses temperature to decide when to get tired.

