Hungry Focus

Can you be more focused when you're hungry versus when you're not?

It’s a random question that popped into my head on a Sunday evening, and the more I think about it, the more it seems to makes sense.

As I write this, I'm not hungry, just a bit thirsty, which is very much manageable.

I tend to find my most productive work happens right before a meal. There's usually a certain clarity and energetic buzz that seems to fade after I eat.

Something in me just prefers to "work" on an empty stomach, more energy to concentrate on the task at hand, which seems a bit counterintuitive to the logical conclusion that eating gives us energy and the more energy we have the more we can get done or something along those lines.

Like my body is a company. The cafeteria is closed (i.e., I'm fasting), all the employees (my energy) are at their desks, working hard. But when the cafeteria opens (I've just eaten), a good chunk of the workforce heads to the digestive department which leaves fewer employees to handle other tasks.

Of course, it's a spectrum, past a certain limit, nothing can be done within a state of extreme hunger or dehydration.

A slightly empty stomach could be my secret weapon here however it doesn't rule of the fact that my brain without enough water acts like a plant left in the sun too long, i.e it just drops.

It turns out there's some science to this.

A review of studies found that short-term fasting (under 24 hours) doesn't have a major negative impact on cognitive functions like memory and attention for most healthy adults, some research suggests it can even offer benefits.

As in when you fast, your body can switch to using "ketones" for fuel, which can be a more efficient energy source for the brain.

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I wonder if this is a remnant of our evolutionary past when our ancestors needed to be sharp and focused to hunt for their next meal?

I think this whole experience of 'focus on an empty stomach' thing has me convinced that aspects of my brain may still be stuck in its hunter-gatherer phase.

A mental image I have for this is, "Okay, team, we're hungry. Let's sharpen our spears (or, in my case, keyboards) and find some food!"

The problem is, my 'prey' is a blank screen, and the only thing I'm hunting for is a finished draft, for example.

It's a bit of a mismatch, to be honest.

On a similar train of thought I can just also imagine my caveman ancestors looking at me, shaking their heads, and saying, "He's been staring at that glowing rectangular box for hours. Is he ever going to catch anything?"

Hard to accept that aspects of us may never outgrow our past no matter how advanced of a a civilization we currently are.


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