A new brain study demonstrates that our brains expend energy when we gear ourselves down for relaxation, according to The Star.
Math professor Daniela Calvetti from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland helped build a computer model that illustrates how neurons pass signals to each other in the brain.
Professor Calvetti compares the brain in overdrive to a speeding vehicle, and shutting off thoughts, like stomping on the brakes, takes energy, she says.
“Driving comes to mind: You need energy to pull a truck up a hill, but if you want to drive in an orderly manner and you’re going down a hill, it also takes energy when you put on the brakes.”
Using math equations to map the brain is a novel approach, said Erkki Somersalo co-author of the study, which was published in the Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow & Metabolism.
There you have it—scientific proof for the popularity of Friday—all the brain’s hard work of relaxing over the weekend begins!