The little-known reason youre always exhausted after work, experts reveal

One of my goals for this year is to go on more random side-quests.Side quests, you say?They’re basically little micro-adventures that expand your knowledge, challenge you, and make you a more well-rounded person, so your entire personality isn’t your job.As well as helping your self-development, they also make your day-to-day more fun, meaning your week doesn’t just revolve around your nine to five.They could include things like completing a puzzle, becoming a national park volunteer or simply getting a library card – to name a few completely random, definitely not belonging to me nerdy side quest ideas.But the thing stopping me from living my best extra-curricular life is the fact that as soon as I leave the office, I feel like any energy that I’ve had – or deceived my colleagues into thinking I had – just drains right out of me.When I get home, I inevitably fall into the ‘sit down and scroll’ trap and the thought of getting up and doing quite literally anything becomes all but a light suggestion tucked away in my Notes app New Year’s resolutions list.It turns out, there’s actually a legitimate reason why I, and most likely you if you’re reading this, can’t get off the couch after work.And no, it’s not just that you’re lazy or are addicted to TikTok, although – guilty as charged.Experts say this end-of-day exhaustion is a specific kind of tiredness tied to the mental and emotional strain of work – not necessarily the tasks themselves, but the constant switching between demands, decisions and yes, meetings that could have been emails.According to Principle Psychologist and clinic owner at Enriching Lives Psychology, Carly Dober, this feeling is something called “cognitive fatigue.”“Many workers might spend their days completing a lot of tasks that aren’t urgent, or necessary, but do create lots of vacuums of time and mental energy to respond to,” Ms.Dober told news.com.au.“Cognitive fatigue occurs when we make many mor...