A new study indicates that "overthinking causes higher levels of stress, frustration, or anger." The research revealed that the more effort exerted in a task, the greater the levels of unpleasant emotions experienced. Researchers analyzed data from 170 studies published between 2019 and 2020, involving 4,670 individuals across 29 countries, to determine how people perceive mental effort in general. The studies included participants from various walks of life, such as healthcare workers, military personnel, university students, and athletes. They were assigned different tasks, such as learning new technology, playing golf, or engaging in games.
The researchers found that participants consistently reported increasing levels of unpleasant feelings, such as stress, discomfort, and irritation, when they exerted greater mental effort. Overall, the researchers found that the more mental effort required, the greater the discomfort experienced by individuals. The findings suggest that thinking can be painful; however, it is not a physical pain like having a neck ache. The mental effort required for serious thinking is indeed associated with unpleasant sensations, to the extent that some individuals may choose physical pain instead.
In an article published in the Psychological Bulletin, Dr. Eric Bilfield from Radboud University in the Netherlands stated, "The main result we found is that mental effort is closely linked to negative feelings. We found this correlation across all types of tasks and all types of populations, including experienced professionals and educated individuals at universities." Dr. Bilfield explained that while people may endure mental effort to learn a difficult hobby or a job they generally enjoy, this does not mean that serious thinking makes them happy. He added, "It is important for professionals, such as engineers and teachers, to keep this in mind when designing tasks, tools, interfaces, applications, materials, or instructions. When individuals are asked to exert significant mental effort, you need to ensure that they are supported or rewarded for their effort."
