Mental sequelae linked to confinement are quickly reversible, provided you socialize

Breton oyster since successive confinements, Scottish researchers have good news for you. Three psychologists wanted to know if our cognitive abilities were all returning to normal after the pandemic. According to their conclusions, it would seem so. Dr Christopher Hand, from the Caledonian University of Glasgow, Greg Maciejewski and Joanne Ingram, from the University of the West of Scotland, found that people with cognitive problems from the pandemic recover quickly when ‘they can socialize again. The researchers used an analogy. Our confined brain behaves like an abandoned house: it fills with dust and cobwebs. To recover its capacities, it is therefore necessary to have a good spring cleaning.

Astronauts, trekkers or confined, same fight (cognitive)

“Psychologists are only now beginning to recognize how social interaction affects our well-being and mental abilities – and how isolation, whether for the elderly or in extreme occupations – can affect our health and ability. mental in many areass “, explain the researchers. Studies have shown that the mental health of subjects who never presented any problems had been affected. And the people who suffered the most cognitively during the confinement are the people alone. ‘lower morale, a link has been identified between loneliness and cognitive problems with fatigue, stress and problems concentrating. These effects are normally studied either in the elderly,

Attention, learning ability and working memory

To understand the effects of loneliness on our brains and then returning to a more social life, the researchers studied the behavior of 342 Scots, all adults (between 18 and 72 years old), between May and July 2020. C ‘is the period during which restrictions were gradually lifted in the UK. A good opportunity for scientists to observe if the cognitive abilities of the people observed improved as they regained more sociability.

The three psychologists took tests to measure attention, learning ability, working memory (that is to say the ability to remember important information contained in the text, Editor’s note) and the perception of the time. According to the study, all of these indicators were significantly better with the end of confinement. Better, they are improved from week to week. Besides the return to sociability, scientists also mentioned the positive effect of the climate and better exposure to light.

The combination of all these elements made it possible to conclude that we are recovering our capacities as they were before the containment and that we are doing it quickly.