2026年天津（第二次） Passage C

For decades, scientists hypothesized that cognitively demanding tasks, such as writing or solving math problems, require more energy than easier tasks like scrolling short videos on the phone or looking out of the window. However, recent research proves the view wrong. Our brains perform massively complex and metabolically costly computations all day long. “Whether you’re engaged in a cognitively demanding task at work or you’re staring off into space, your brain is using roughly the same amount of energy,” says neuroscientist Todd Braver of Washington University in St. Louis.

In fact, what feels more challenging is when a task requires the brain to go against its usual habits.

Cognitively demanding work often requires the coordination of many different brain regions in novel patterns, while silencing circuits that frequently fire together.

Studies have found that pushing against our brain’s habits triggers an emotional response, making us feel uncomfortable. “It’s aversive, and it just feels bad,” says Michael Inzlicht, a psychologist from the University of Toronto. But he points out that emotional responses are subjective: they are interpretations of sensations in our bodies and brains. And we can influence how much we pay attention to these sensations and even how we interpret them.

We often overestimate the struggle and pain required to complete cognitive tasks. This initial overestimation can lead us to procrastinate, or even avoid the task altogether.

Studies suggest that if we can get past that initial hurdle of starting a task, then thinking becomes easier. One way to do that is to pay attention to the benefits instead of the efforts required. In a study published in the journal Science in 2020, Andrew Westbrook, a neuroscientist at Rutgers University, and his colleagues gave participants the choice of solving an easy memory puzzle for a small amount of money or a much harder puzzle for more money. The options were displayed on a screen, and participants’ eye movements were tracked as they decided which puzzle to attempt. When people spent more time looking at the reward for the challenging puzzle, they were more likely to choose it. If our mind’s eye, or our attentional focus, is on the benefits of an option, over time we’re more likely to choose to do hard things.

Performing complex mental tasks will also be less painful if the exertion of mental effort is habituated. When we don’t have to make a decision to focus every day, we will save ourselves considering the costs or consequences. To make cognitively demanding tasks a habit, try to do them every day at the same time and in the same place. Add a ritual before the work starts, such as turning off the phone and launching an app to block distracting websites. After a few weeks, concentrating deeply won’t just feel easier, it will actually be easier.