The mole effect: Staying at home too long will make you stupid!

When in an overly familiar environment and not wanting to come into contact with the outside world, a person's cognitive abilities and intelligence gradually decline.

In recent years, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, more and more people have chosen to work from home or do not want to socialize much. In some people's view, they can communicate and make money through their computer or phone without ever having to step out their door. However, is staying indoors for such a long time good for your health?

A study in the "Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience " published by MIT and the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience (USA) shows that living in the same environment for a long time can lead to an individual's cognitive decline . This phenomenon is also known as the "mole effect".

This study was conducted by researchers from the University of New South Wales, USA. They conducted a survey of 4,175 people living in prolonged quarantine due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Staying at home for too long causes a person's intelligence to gradually decrease. (Illustration).

The results showed that after these people experienced long periods of isolation, not only did their mental health decline, but their cognitive ability also deteriorated , and some people even gradually fell into depression. .

Among them, more than 70% of people surveyed expressed negative emotions such as boredom, depression, fear of infection, about 30% experienced cognitive decline during the quarantine period, e.g. impaired memory or difficulty concentrating.

Researchers point out that staying in a monotonous environment for long periods of time is the main cause of psychological and cognitive problems.

A diverse environment can help stimulate the brain and improve physical functions. If the brain is in the same environment day after day, it will have difficulty distinguishing between different memories, leading to cognitive decline.

A report in the journal " World Biological Psychiatry" said that  the longer people are exposed to the outdoor environment, the higher the rate of formation of gray-brown areas in the cerebral cortex. much. This area is closely related to memory ability, meaning that staying indoors for long periods of time can lead to memory loss.

In addition, a study was published in the "New England Journal of Medicine" conducted at a research station in Antarctica. Over a period of about a year and a half, the levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factors of the employees living here dropped by nearly half. This decrease is closely linked to the incidence of depression, which suggests that living long-term in the same environment can cause psychological problems.

Psychiatry experts from the Royal New Zealand Academy of Sciences, through a survey of more than 40,000 Norwegian volunteers, found that people who regularly participate in outdoor activities, regardless of the intensity of the activity, have The risk of depression is significantly lower than for people who avoid social activities and stay home for long periods of time.

Overall, people who do not participate in outdoor activities are 1 to 2 times more likely to suffer from depression.

It can be seen that staying at home for too long is an unhealthy lifestyle , and can even lead to physical and mental problems.

As a social creature, humans need the support of the community, even introverts need to participate in social activities. Without community support, it is easy for individuals to feel isolated and helpless.

Some people choose to stay at home for long periods of time, often because they lack social skills, are withdrawn, and have difficulty finding their own place in society.

Take Xiao Xiao (China) 28 years old as an example. His education level is quite limited so he can only do manual labor. After losing his job, he planned to stay home and rest for a while, but unexpectedly he became addicted to games, earned some spending money by selling virtual devices, and gradually he didn't want to go out anymore.

Even though this income was only enough to cover his living expenses and his life was extremely unstable, he still chose not to look for a job. Being addicted to games and not wanting to communicate with others caused his health to deteriorate. He said he found his own value in the gaming world. So, even when he realized that this lifestyle was unhealthy, he chose to continue immersing himself in it and did not want to face the real world.

This phenomenon is not an isolated case but it occurs all over the world.

In Japan, this type of person is called "hikikomori" , which means  " closed in, confined" , they do not want to contact the outside world, choose to stay at home and avoid social activities. . Social avoidance behavior causes them to enter a vicious circle, eventually leading to a decline in intelligence and social ability.

In fact, social skills are not innate, they are gradually accumulated through regularly participating in social activities. By constantly interacting with the outside world, a person can find his or her place in different environments and situations. They realize their self-worth and maintain a healthy psychological state.