Today, we will continue our focus on the specifics of mental energy. 

As the last newsletter in this months series was centered around the more immediate affect of mental energy and high cognitive load, today’s newsletter will be focusing on the long term effect.

I will show we I believe that mastering our mental energy is necessary in terms of both long term performance and well being.

Today’s newsletter is based on a longer article I did on the long term effects of high mental load, which can be found here.

⚠️ Overload isn’t just fatigue, it’s wear and tear

Sustained mental strain does more than just make you tired in the moment. Over time, glutamate buildup and mitochondrial stress can weaken focus, slow thinking, and even affect mood.

🧘 Meditation can hel pus master our mental eenrgy

Mindfulness might counteract the overload cycle. By training the brain, calming the Default Mode Network and balancing brain chemistry, meditation helps preserve energy, focus, and long-term well-being.

As we saw in the newsletter from the 10^th of August, during mental work, neurons release glutamate, which are the brain’s main excitatory neurotransmitter.

Normally, astrocytes recycle glutamate, but under sustained mental load they can’t keep up, which causes glutamate to buildup in the synaptic cleft.

A 2022 study showed that a full day of cognitively demanding work raises glutamate in the lateral prefrontal cortex (the brain’s important executive hub) more than in easier tasks.

While such buildup is usually reversible with rest, sustained or repeated periods of high cognitive load could, over time, contribute to stress on neural circuits, raising the possibility that, in some cases, glutamate imbalance might become more persistent.

Excess glutamate overstimulates receptors that causes calcium to flow into neurons.

This calcium overload can damage mitochondria in the neurons. The mitochondria are the cell’s “energy factories” that produce ATP.

Since ATP fuels mental effort, impaired mitochondria directly drain mental energy.

Over time, the build up of glutamate can also cause inflammation.

Microglia release cytokines like IL-1β and TNF-α, which further disrupt communication between brain cells and can damage brain gray matter in key regions such as the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus.

These changes are tied to slower thinking, weaker working memory, and reduced emotional control.

Long term mental load can potentially also influence the dopamine-system.

While this system sometimes actually preserve performance under stress asnd sustained strain (as seen in studies of sleep-deprived surgeons), prolonged overload can down-regulate dopamine receptors and reduce cortical dopamine levels.

This is a pattern often seen in burnout.

Meanwhile, the sustain mental load means prolonged ATP breakdown, which causes extracellular adenosine to buildup.

Over time, this pattern likely results in an upregulating A₁ receptors, which makes mental fatigue set in faster.

At the network level, less effective mitochondria in the prefrontal cortex likely weaken top-down control, which would then allow the Default Mode Network (DMN) to intrude more often.

As we covered in the newsletter from the 10^th of August, the DMN is the brain network often linked to self-referential rumination and wandering thoughts.

Over time, weakened prefrontal cortex might foster persistent mental fatigue, slower responses, and increased off-task thinking.

Longitudinal studies even show that workers under high cognitive load develop progressive rumination and poorer sleep, reinforcing a self-perpetuating cycle.

What is even more frightening to think about, is that chronic cognitive stress might also affect mood.

Energy deficits and inflammation in the prefrontal cortex, a key emotion-regulation hub, are closely tied to depressive symptoms.

Research links mitochondrial dysfunction to anhedonia (the reduced ability to experience pleasure or joy), rumination, and heightened inflammatory signaling, which would suggest a direct bridge between mental overload and mood decline.

What I find extremely interesting is that meditation seems to offer a counterweight.

By training sustained, non-reactive attention, practices like mindfulness and focused attention meditations strengthen prefrontal control.

This would reduce DMN intrusions and ease glutamate demands.

They also raise cortical GABA, which is an inhibitory counterweight to glutamate, and therefore helps ease astrocytic clearance demands.

They dampen inflammation, and help stabilize dopamine signaling.

Long-term meditators appear not so much to “boost” focus, but to quiet the brain’s noisy background (the DMN), which conserves energy and protects against overload.

Chronic cognitive strain can set off a series of events related to mental energy;

glutamate buildup →mitochondrial failure → reduced ATP + inflammation → weaker prefrontal control → DMN dominance and rumination → fatigue and mood decline.

But, meditation can interrupts this spiral, giving the brain space to restore balance and sustain mental energy.

Therefore, on top of learning to master our mental energy, beginning a meaningful meditation routine might be a good strategy to help us perform more optimally, even when pursuing ambitious goals over longer periods.

If you want to learn more about meditation end mastering of mental energy 👉 here.

If you found today’s newsletter interesting, I did a slightly more detailed piece on mental energy.
👉 Check it out here.

_{Disclaimer: The above is mainly based on the 4 articles mentioned in the beginning of this newsletter, and aims to provide key takeaways and a condensed overview of its content. While the essence is drawn from the original articles, some parts have been simplified or rephrased to enhance understanding. Please note that we at, OptiMindInsights or any other potential writers or contributors to our summaries, do not accept responsibility for any consequences arising from the use of these summaries and/or newsletters as a whole. The information provided should not be considered a substitute for personal research or professional advice. Readers are encouraged to consult the original articles for detailed insights and references. The summary does not include references, but they can typically be found within the original publication. Always exercise due diligence and consider your unique circumstances before applying any information in your personal or professional life. We refer to the creative commons for reproducibility rights.}