Our Brains Have a “Low Power Mode” Like Smartphones

We have all seen that when the battery of computers and smartphones is low, the screen turns black and the process speed can drop quite a bit. Scientists have now revealed that an exemplary mode also exists in people’s brains.

It’s customary for our brains to go into power saving mode, which doesn’t happen that quickly. In order for this situation to occur, it is necessary to not get enough food and the body load must fall below a critical point. When it comes to this step, the brain changes the information process to save power.

Our brain is trying to defend its power

Our brain, which performs a significant part of our daily power consumption under normal rules, basically produces power from the sugar called ATP (adenosine triphosphate). When we look at it from a historical point of view, it has been revealed that our brain, which has faced long migrations and famines, therefore takes some precautions in case of long-term hunger.

In a study published in the journal Neuron, Nathalie Rochefort of Edinbrough University examined the visual abilities of mice in terms of power saving. Compared to this, a change emerged in the cells that carry out visual processes in the brains of mice that did not receive adequate nutrition for a long time and lost about one-fifth of their body load. Neurons in this region reduced the amount of ATP used at their synapses by 29 percent.

On the other hand, this situation is not without some disadvantages. First, the capacity to perceive details is reduced. In addition, the quality of perception of the images that the eye sees decreases in general. To put it simply, our brain perceives life by reducing it from Ultra HD to 720p in order not to waste much power.

In fact, people can see the effects of this situation in their own lives. The fact that you only think about food when you are very hungry or haven’t eaten for a long time or that you skip details while doing business is actually a result of this situation. In its most basic form, the border cells in our brain increase the level of force required for the interaction of stimuli and omit small details. On the other hand, it does not seem to cause any permanent change in our brain at the moment to store power in this way.