Not Taking a Break When You’re Sick Will Mess With Your Brain’s Ability To Cope
When you’re sick, your whole body needs time to heal. The brain is no exception. Although it may be tempting, going back to working while sick can have negative impacts on your brain health. Many of the symptoms that we associate with being sick may actually be our brain kicking into action to help us feel better. A study found that mice who are sick experience fever, chills, and loss of appetite due to a brain region that controls body temperature and appetite. In fact, when that brain region is activated in mice who are not sick, they experience the same symptoms as sick mice. That indicates that the symptoms may not actually be a result of the infection but the brain’s response to it. Another study found that mice moved less while sick to conserve energy, a behavior that is controlled by the brainstem. These studies suggest that the best thing we can do for our body when sick is to listen to our brain and take a break.
