Cognitive Overload: Understanding and Managing Mental Fatigue

Picture a laptop with 400 windows open. Outlook is running, a presentation is half finished, an invoice sits behind that, and a podcast plays in the background. The laptop slows down, and sometimes it crashes. According to Gabrielle (Gabe) Pereira, your brain works in much the same way.

Gabe is the founder of the plant-based wellness brand Aura Health and has spent more than ten years in the supplement industry. He joined me on the me&my Health Up podcast to talk about cognitive overload: what it is, why so many of us feel it, and the practical steps that make it easier to carry.

What is cognitive overload?

Cognitive overload is what happens when we are bombarded with more information than we can process. We forget things, struggle to remember names, and feel overwhelmed even when nothing dramatic is going on.

Gabe's point is that most of us are now "cognitive athletes". Even people who work with their hands carry a mental load of invoicing, bill paying and admin at the end of the day. Then we come home and try to relax in front of a phone, a television, or both at once. Scrolling through short videos might feel pleasant, but it still puts load on the system.

He also made the point that mums often carry an extra layer, because they hold the whole family's health and schedule in mind on top of work and home responsibilities. I hear this every day in clinic.

Why it matters for your health

Gabe described a background level of stress that builds when the mind never gets a break. He mentioned psychological research showing that some people have a fight-or-flight response, with a spike of adrenaline and cortisol, simply because their phone rings. The call is not a threat, but the person is so overloaded that it registers as one.

From his experience in the supplement and health food world, he linked prolonged overload with effects people commonly report: lower energy, a rundown immune system, reduced libido and poorer quality of life. He also noted that everyone has a different capacity. Some people are thrown by the smallest thing, while others seem to juggle three kids and four businesses. Both ends of that spectrum, and everyone in between, can still be overloaded.

The household budget analogy

One of my favourite parts of the conversation was Gabe's money analogy. Imagine you have $1,000 to spend in a period. If you spend more, you are in overdraft or using the credit card. Your stress hormones and your sleep work the same way. The body is a finely tuned machine that will let you get away with a lot, but eventually the debt comes due.

That is useful because it takes the guilt out of the conversation. It is not a character flaw to feel stretched. It is a budget that has been overspent, and a budget can be rebalanced.

Practices first, products second

Gabe was clear that he starts with principles and practices before products. He called products "the icing on the cake". Here are the practices he shared.

1. Take back control of your schedule

Gabe uses a scheduling app to set the hours he is willing to work, because in his forties he cannot keep up the late nights he managed at 22. He suggests giving every task a realistic and conservative amount of time, then adding about a 20 per cent buffer. He admitted he used to be the friend who was always running late, not through lack of discipline, but because he thought he could fit more into the day than he could.

2. Choose your top three or four things

He recommended the book Essentialism by Greg McKeown. The idea is choicefulness: instead of saying you can get eight things done, decide on your top three or four and accept that is all you can do today. If your limits include being in bed by 9 or 9.30 and putting screens away two hours before that, then some things simply will not fit. As Gabe put it, trying to do everything is a great recipe for mediocrity.

3. Give social media a window

He is not asking anyone to become a monk. His suggestion is a set 30-minute "feast" where you scroll whatever you like, then turn the apps off. He has also tried removing email and social media from his phone to add friction, and he went on a news fast during a stressful period, choosing instead to read a few select publications in his area of interest.

4. Protect your sleep

Gabe described sleep as the deep clean for the brain, the point where the "windows" on the laptop get shut down. He said the importance of sleep, and the quality of it, cannot be overestimated.

5. Build a simple mindfulness habit

He doesn't think it has to be a formal meditation style. A 10-minute practice using an app such as Headspace or Calm counts. He described it as one of the most important gifts you can give yourself in a day, alongside good sleep and a proper diet.

6. Stay hydrated

Gabe reminded us that the brain needs hydration to work well, and he admitted he has to force himself to carry a drink bottle around. If you feel flat by mid-afternoon, a glass of water is a small place to begin.

Change 3 to 5 per cent, not everything

Trying to overhaul your whole life is itself a form of cognitive overload. Gabe shared advice from his teacher: if you can change 3 to 5 per cent towards a more balanced way of living, that is huge progress for many people. If you are a busy parent, the same idea runs through my chat with coach Josh Wood in Healthy Habits for Busy Parents, where one tiny step at a time beats a perfect plan.

Nutrition and supplements: what Gabe shared

When we moved to nutrition, Gabe described what he calls a baseline approach. These are his views and experience, shared as general information only.

• Healthy fats: He pointed out the brain is 50 to 60 per cent fat and said most people do not eat enough low-mercury fish. He mentioned algal sources of omega-3 as an option for people who are plant-based.
• A Mediterranean-style way of eating: plenty of olive oil and vegetables, meat as more of a condiment, and fewer fast-burning carbohydrates and less sugar.
• B vitamins and magnesium: He encouraged people to talk with a practitioner about good-quality forms rather than buying the cheapest option. On magnesium, he noted that forms such as citrate and bisglycinate tend to be gentler on the stomach than magnesium oxide.
• Adaptogens and green tea: He mentioned herbs such as ashwagandha, and high L-theanine green tea for a sense of calm alertness.

He was also candid that he now takes fewer supplements than he used to, and that the goal is to work out the "absolute de minimis" your body and lifestyle actually need. Supplements should sit on top of food, sleep and lifestyle, not replace them. Because every person is different, it is worth speaking with a qualified health professional before starting anything new, especially if you take medication or have a health condition.

Agency is the real goal

Gabe said the main idea behind his brand is creating agency: giving people the knowledge to become their own "health general manager" and make informed choices based on where they are in life. I couldn't agree more. Understanding your own load is the first step to lightening it.

If stress and overload are showing up in your team as well, you may also find our workplace mental health workshops useful. And for a look at how a stuck stress response shapes daily life, see my conversation with Dr Niikee'sha on stress, subconscious beliefs and the breath.

A simple place to start this week

Pick one thing from this list, not all of them. Perhaps it is a 30-minute scroll window, a 20 per cent buffer on your calendar, or a screen-free hour before bed. Small, realistic changes are the ones that stick.

This article is general information only and is not a substitute for advice from your doctor or qualified health provider.

If you would like personalised support with stress, energy or nutrition, you are welcome to book a free 15-minute clarity call with me at me&my wellness. We can talk through where you are now and what a realistic next step looks like.

Listen to more episodes of the Health Up podcast on the me&my wellness podcasts page.