# Does your brain get tired from reading too much? How do you handle it?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-brain-get-tired-from-reading-too-much-how-do-you-handle-it/674074>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [November 16, 2013, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-brain-get-tired-from-reading-too-much-how-do-you-handle-it/674074 "2013-11-16T19:34:18Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Lakai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lakai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lakai)\
**Post date:** [November 19, 2013, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-brain-get-tired-from-reading-too-much-how-do-you-handle-it/674074/21 "2013-11-19T00:54:22Z")

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> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#):
>
> Could this be (1) eyestrain or (2) fatigue? When you feel like this, what do you do instead?

I do something that requires less mental focus. Music, chorus, exercise, or TV.

> [@Yllaria](#):
>
> If you’re getting actual headaches, it could be eyestrain from either needing glasses or a better prescription or it could be from some kind of tracking problem. Some people have no problem focusing their eyes, but have trouble smoothly tracking across the words.
> 
> There can also be problems with mental focus, but I think you’d notice having trouble with things besides reading. Oh, do you ever have trouble following an audio book?

I have astigmatism, which requires glasses. Sometimes I read without glasses. That could be it.

Audio books aren’t a good example because I have hearing loss, and can’t focus on audio books for that reason.

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**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\
**Post date:** [November 19, 2013, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-brain-get-tired-from-reading-too-much-how-do-you-handle-it/674074/22 "2013-11-19T14:30:12Z")

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I’ve had it, too. I’m the type of reader who reads everything all the way through. So, if a book is fairly long, I can wind up reading for 8-10 hours at a time. I deal with it by taking a nap for an hour or two.

It doesn’t feel like eyestrain, but I think that at least plays a part. It’s just so weird that eyestrain can cause foggy thinking. Maybe it’s because you have to use more mental energy to see. Or maybe it’s a coincidence, and your brain and eyes are just getting tired at the same time.

I do know that eyestrain was not the only problem back when I was detoxing from benzos. The reason I say this is that I would feel it at other times, too, even after just thinking with my eyes closed. The only way I can describe it is that I think it must be what people feel when they say they are thinking so hard it hurts. That was something I’d never experienced, and, like nearly everything else, was quite frightening.

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