Stress makes programmers dumber?

That’s the hypothesis put forth by Alan G. Carter in a brilliant web series found at “The Programmer’s Stone“.  It begins as a critical examination of the effect of stress on creative solution finding.  What the author refers to as juxtapositional thinking is a method of holding multiple opposing proposed solutions in one’s mind at the same time.  This type of advanced conceptual problem solving forms the basis of effective and intelligent design, programming or otherwise.  Discover how our body’s response to stress is to focus on frontal lobe thinking which is predictable and methodical but highly concentrated.  The Programmer’s Stone continues by suggesting solutions addressing the issue of stress for individuals and organizations.  In addition to mitigating the effect, techniques for inducing advanced cognitive states are given for those who are stuck in procedural or stressed mental conditions.  Some of the ideas are fairly advanced (to readers like myself who are new to the concept) so the brief but dense series may require a careful (re)read and time to digest.

Some of my own thoughts to add to the topic:

  • Connect to other designers who are dealing with the same difficulties as yourself through social media (programming or otherwise)
  • regular exercise does a great job of resetting my bodies stress system
  • determining the magic stress threshold that optimizes our
    cognitive performance is unique to each individual.  A simple hypothesis is that
    any individual interested enough in a topic won’t require ANY outside stress to achieve superior design performance
  • antidepressants that block stress receptors could actually improve cognitive ability when under tight schedules or managerial pressure (I wouldn’t try it, update: there are side effects related to modern antidepressants that inhibit optimal thinking)
  • an incredible amount of great scientific research has been done on lab rats cognitive impairment when under stress, we need to apply these findings to our daily work environments to better utilize our work force (and our own time)
    • no we’re not lab rat’s! But under stress we have a similar drop in cognitive ability
    • of course we need to balance work + out of work life

Need more reasons to stay clear of stress in the workplace?  How about because

A related article, Tough Choices: How Making Decisions Tires Your Brain discusses how sequential thought processes can affect decision making quality.  It goes on to explain how the exhaustion of the executive decision making process of the brain can negatively effect later decision making.

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  • Marc

    I found that, when I was taking anti-depressants, I couldn’t think properly. The result was that I became even more stressed (thinking being such a large part of what I do).
    I stopped taking them, it wasn’t worth it.
    (For completeness I should point out that, if you need to take ant–depressants, you could probably find a medication and dosage which works for you, but I wouldn’t suddenly try them because I was stressed and had a deadline next week)

  • Marc

    I found that, when I was taking anti-depressants, I couldn’t think properly. The result was that I became even more stressed (thinking being such a large part of what I do).
    I stopped taking them, it wasn’t worth it.
    (For completeness I should point out that, if you need to take ant–depressants, you could probably find a medication and dosage which works for you, but I wouldn’t suddenly try them because I was stressed and had a deadline next week)

  • http://www.victusspiritus.com/ Mark Essel

    Thanks Marc for you’re realistic anchor to one of my “out there” thoughts. I imagined a vunderdrug version that would simply eliminate neurologically induced stress with no side effects, the reality is quite different.

  • http://messel.typepad.com/ Mark Essel

    Thanks Marc for you’re realistic anchor to one of my “out there” thoughts. I imagined a vunderdrug version that would simply eliminate neurologically induced stress with no side effects, the reality is quite different.

  • Rowe

    “regular exercise does a great job of resetting my bodies stress system”
    What does that mean, and how did you discover this? I’ve never heard of a “stress system”, nor do I know what it means to “reset” an anatomical system. And if “exercise” (one form of stress) can do this, shouldn’t any form of physical stress do the same? For example, cutting yourself.
    I’m all for regular exercise, and I’m all for reducing stress, but this sentence makes no sense at all to me.

  • Rowe

    “regular exercise does a great job of resetting my bodies stress system”
    What does that mean, and how did you discover this? I’ve never heard of a “stress system”, nor do I know what it means to “reset” an anatomical system. And if “exercise” (one form of stress) can do this, shouldn’t any form of physical stress do the same? For example, cutting yourself.
    I’m all for regular exercise, and I’m all for reducing stress, but this sentence makes no sense at all to me.

  • http://www.bashelton.com/ Benjamin

    > What does that mean, and how did you discover this?
    > I’ve never heard of a “stress system”, nor do I know
    > what it means to “reset” an anatomical system. And if
    > “exercise” (one form of stress) can do this, shouldn’t
    > any form of physical stress do the same? For example,
    > cutting yourself.
    My health practitioner told me that the best way to alleviate stress and anxiety is to exercise. It really does work and has something to do with chemicals released during the process of exercising–you could find more by Googling it or perhaps searching on WebMD. Simply put: Taking a 20 minute walk every other day can cut your stress DRAMATICALLY!
    No, cutting yourself won’t work, because the act invokes both pain and other responses in the body to repair the site and attack foreign bodies (bacteria, etc) that may have entered the wound.
    Anyway, very interesting article! I had no idea that stress impacted performance this much. This gives me an excuse for downtime!

  • http://www.bashelton.com/ Benjamin

    > What does that mean, and how did you discover this?
    > I’ve never heard of a “stress system”, nor do I know
    > what it means to “reset” an anatomical system. And if
    > “exercise” (one form of stress) can do this, shouldn’t
    > any form of physical stress do the same? For example,
    > cutting yourself.
    My health practitioner told me that the best way to alleviate stress and anxiety is to exercise. It really does work and has something to do with chemicals released during the process of exercising–you could find more by Googling it or perhaps searching on WebMD. Simply put: Taking a 20 minute walk every other day can cut your stress DRAMATICALLY!
    No, cutting yourself won’t work, because the act invokes both pain and other responses in the body to repair the site and attack foreign bodies (bacteria, etc) that may have entered the wound.
    Anyway, very interesting article! I had no idea that stress impacted performance this much. This gives me an excuse for downtime!

  • ajith

    i do spritual stuff like meditation and yoga. That is very effective and feel very relieved and makes you feeel happy just by being what ur now -nothing external like high fi car, gadget , bucks ,girl ..

  • ajith

    i do spritual stuff like meditation and yoga. That is very effective and feel very relieved and makes you feeel happy just by being what ur now -nothing external like high fi car, gadget , bucks ,girl ..

  • http://www.techbustr.com techbustr

    Effects of Stress on Programmers

    Here is a very interesting dissection of a series of posts about why programmers act the way they do under stressful situations. The basic gist is that

  • http://www.techbustr.com techbustr

    Effects of Stress on Programmers

    Here is a very interesting dissection of a series of posts about why programmers act the way they do under stressful situations. The basic gist is that

  • http://www.illegalthreads.com/customize/Swanky/Time/ Krylen

    Very interesting post, I’d like to see more serious studies in the area. As for myself personally, I completely agree, I have to take a moment to clear my head every so often otherwise I get burned out.

  • http://www.illegalthreads.com/customize/Swanky/Time/ Krylen

    Very interesting post, I’d like to see more serious studies in the area. As for myself personally, I completely agree, I have to take a moment to clear my head every so often otherwise I get burned out.

  • http://www.victusspiritus.com/ Mark Essel

    Thanks for taking the time to comment everyone.
    Rowe: From personal experience, when I became stressed out a simple walk would clear my head. Highly concentrated mental tasks require some downtime for your mind to work at it’s finest.
    Benjamin: Thanks, it looks like you did a better job explaining the benefits of exercise to stress reduction than I did. Glad to hear a health professional suggested that exercise alleviates stress.
    Ajith: Another wonderful proposed solution, meditation and yoga! Although I hadn’t mentioned it, when walking the types of calm thought flow I have is probably similar to some forms of meditation.
    Krylen: I find it strange as well that there aren’t more studies done in this area, since it could be one of the greatest areas of productivity increase for our society. I’m thankful for Alan G. Carter sharing his findings.

  • http://messel.typepad.com/ Mark Essel

    Thanks for taking the time to comment everyone.
    Rowe: From personal experience, when I became stressed out a simple walk would clear my head. Highly concentrated mental tasks require some downtime for your mind to work at it’s finest.
    Benjamin: Thanks, it looks like you did a better job explaining the benefits of exercise to stress reduction than I did. Glad to hear a health professional suggested that exercise alleviates stress.
    Ajith: Another wonderful proposed solution, meditation and yoga! Although I hadn’t mentioned it, when walking the types of calm thought flow I have is probably similar to some forms of meditation.
    Krylen: I find it strange as well that there aren’t more studies done in this area, since it could be one of the greatest areas of productivity increase for our society. I’m thankful for Alan G. Carter sharing his findings.

  • Eli

    The whole exercise/clear your head discussion makes me think of a physics exam I took once. I was really just stuck, I couldn’t think, or do any of the problems. I went to the bathroom, and just calmed down a lot, slowly walked back to class, and, suddenly, I was able to answer all of the questions (I got a low ‘A’, 92 or something).
    Another thing I wonder about is, in computer programming classes, I would sometimes work on projects late at night, and just be frustrated. However, when I woke the next day, I usually had the solution.

  • Eli

    The whole exercise/clear your head discussion makes me think of a physics exam I took once. I was really just stuck, I couldn’t think, or do any of the problems. I went to the bathroom, and just calmed down a lot, slowly walked back to class, and, suddenly, I was able to answer all of the questions (I got a low ‘A’, 92 or something).
    Another thing I wonder about is, in computer programming classes, I would sometimes work on projects late at night, and just be frustrated. However, when I woke the next day, I usually had the solution.

  • http://www.victusspiritus.com/ Mark Essel

    Eli I think I may be a late comer to this concept, looks like most other folks online “already knew” that stress changes our mental state. Could explain why many people are bad test takers but are highly intelligent and hard workers.

  • http://messel.typepad.com/ Mark Essel

    Eli I think I may be a late comer to this concept, looks like most other folks online “already knew” that stress changes our mental state. Could explain why many people are bad test takers but are highly intelligent and hard workers.

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