No, I’m not saying that there’s any connection between the two. I just have two physiology/neurology questions that are unrelated except that I thought of both of them, and it seemed jerkish to start two GQ threads in one day.
First the exercise thing. As anyone’s who’s ever begun a workout routine and stuck with it can attest, after doing so for a few weeks–heck, maybe just a few days–you generally begin feeling more energetic, and also sleep easier. Why is this–that is, what biological processes are at work?
Second, what is happening, or rather malfunctioning, when information is on the tip of one’s tongue? I’m sure you know what I mean: things like trying to remember the name of the blond girl who co-starred in Xena: Warrior Princess, and though you have seen her name dozens of times being unable to pull up the information. Ofttimes thinking of something different but related helps retrieve the info; for instance, in the example I just gave, I’d probably think “Okay, the character’s name was Gabrielle … her hair went from long strawberry blond to short golden blond over the course of the series…her costume got smaller every year…Lucy Lawless played Xena–oh, of course, it’s Renee O’Connor!”
What happens, neurologically speaking, in such a process?
I call this the “Little Guy” effect.
I’ll think, “Who did that catchy ‘In the Summertime’ song?” I know I know it; I just can’t think of the answer. At this moment, a Little Guy in my brain runs back to the file room and starts opening drawers and rifling through papers looking for the answer.
Much later, usually after I’ve completely forgotten that I was even wondering about it, the Little Guy, all out of breath, suddenly bursts back into the front of my brain and shouts, “MUNGO JERRY!”
(I realize this in no way answers your question. I just happen to enjoy my description of the phenomenon. :p)
That’s a good description of the process, actually. It also happens when I’m working puzzles. I began a sudoku last night and was stymied by it for quite some time. I started work on it again at lunch, and suddenly saw answers that had entirely escaped me yestereve. Apparently my little guy was quite busy while I was doing actual work (or posting here :D).
That’s basically what I read in an article several years ago (I have no idea where or when I read it–maybe it’ll pop back into my head when I’m taking out the trash or clipping my fingernails next week). If I recall correctly, the main idea of the article was that the subconscious mind is constantly processing information, as well as assessing its suitability to be presented to the conscious mind. Information that concerns the conscious mind, described as the “tip of the iceberg,” is sent through, and all the other info bouncing around is filtered out so as to avoid overloading the conscious mind. This explains why it takes time, as well as why the information often seems to appear out of nowhere.
Unfortunately, googling for terms like “subconscious” and “memory” appear to turn up a goldmine of new agey self-help sites, and very few well-documented articles that discuss the biochemical or psychological causes of this phenomenon.