Level Up Your English Vocabulary! Learn 53 Everyday Expressions in One News Article

Do you ever experience brain fatigue?

Do you know what that is?

Well, today we'll review one news article.

You'll learn what brain fatigue is,  

how to combat it, and you'll learn  53 everyday English expressions.

Welcome back to JForrest English.

Of course, I'm Jennifer.

Now let's get started.

First, I'll read the headline Combat  brain fatigue with these top expert tips.

We're talking about brain fatigue.

When your brain feels like this.

Notice the pronunciation here.

Fatigue.

EEG fatigue.

Repeat after me Fatigue.

Fatigue means extreme tiredness.

Notice it's a noun.

Combat brain fatigue.

It's a something.

Tiredness is a something.

Let's review these two sentences and  see if you can identify the difference.

I feel fatigue after studying English.

I feel fatigued after studying English.

You may notice that the pronunciation  is almost identical because this D  

in fatigued is extremely soft and you  don't really hear it at a natural pace.

But what is the difference in  grammar or meaning between these two?

The meaning is basically  identical, but fatigue here.

This is a noun.

You can feel something.

I feel happiness when I look at  a beautiful sunrise, for example.

Now I feel fatigued, This is an adjective.

I feel happy when I look at a beautiful sunrise.

So the meaning is the same,  but the grammar is different.

This is a noun and this is the adjective form.

And you can feel for both of them and notice  that pronunciation is almost identical.

So what about you?

Do you feel fatigue the noun or do you feel  fatigued the adjective after studying English?

If you do put that's me, that's me in the comments  

and know that as we'll learn in  this article, it's very common.

So don't feel bad if you say that's me.

I certainly feel fatigued after  I do a lot of mental work.

Now notice how they say  combat, combat, brain fatigue.

You could also say fight brain  fatigue, or battle or combat.

Notice all three of these have the same  visual image of fighting brain fatigue.

So you have 3 alternatives in your vocabulary.

Don't worry about taking notes.

I summarize everything in a free lesson PDF.

You can find the link in the description.

Now let's start the article and  learn how put your thinking cap on.

Have you heard of this before?

Put your thinking cap on.

This is an idiom and it means get ready  to think hard or think creatively.

So if you're discussing a problem at  work or at home, someone could say,  

let's put our thinking caps on  because it's one's thinking cap.

So if you have more than one,  you would add an S to cap.

Let's put our thinking caps on and figure  out how to reduce the budget, for example.

That's the problem you want to solve.

So at the beginning of this lesson, I  could say to you, put your thinking cap on.

You're going to learn a lot of new vocabulary,  

so get ready to think hard and don't worry if  you feel fatigued by the end of this lesson.

As a result.

Put your thinking cap on.

People often hear, so this is a common  expression is what they're saying.

After all, that's what our brain is for.

Your brain is for thinking.

That's the purpose and what many are paid to do.

You are paid to think at your job.

That's what you're paid to do.

You're paid to think, but a new study finds that  people see a downside to such mental expenditures.

Thinking can be a pain do you know what  a downside is put your thinking cap on.

A downside is a negative  aspect, it's a disadvantage.

So we talk about the downsides, the  disadvantages, and the opposite is the upside.

Or there can be plural, the upsides,  the advantages, the positive aspects.

So you could say there are many  upsides to learning English.

But there I just noticed I have a typo here.

But there are downsides too.

I was thinking of writing.

There can be downsides too  but there are downsides too.

So this means there are many  positive aspects to learning  

English but there can be some negative aspects.

For example, how much time it takes or  how much mental expenditure there is.

Those can be the downsides, so you  can put in the comments the upside  

to learning English is and then you can  do the same thing with the downside is,  

and then you can share a point  in the comments to practices.

It's very common.

Use the upside or the downside.

Remember it can be singular, just talking  about one, or you can make it plural.

The upsides and downsides, the choice  is yours, so put that in the comments.

An upside and a downside.

Let's look at mental expenditure because I use  

this in my example as well  as one of the downsides.

Expenditures financially are things you  spend money on your monthly expenditures.

So if it's a mental expenditure,  it means you're spending.

But what are you spending?

You're not spending money.

You're spending your mental  effort or your mental energy.

So mental expenditures is the  amount of effort or energy required.

Let's look at this next part.

Thinking can be a pain, a pain  to describe something as a pain.

It can be painful, meaning physical.

I have all pain.

Oh, I have a pain.

This means my neck hurts.

This area is painful, so it's physical.

But we also use this to describe something as  frustrating or annoying, and we use this a lot.

For example, maybe you agree  driving during rush hour is a pain.

It's annoying, it's frustrating, so  it causes mental or emotional pain.

Driving during rush hour is a pain.

You can put that's right or that's right instead  of that's me put that's right in the comments.

If you agree that this is a pain.

So just remember grammatically, it's to  be and then you need this article a pain.

So something that that's why  we have this gerund verb.

Something is your verb to be a pain.

Again, if you agree that this is a pain, but  that's right, that's right in the comments.

Are you enjoying this lesson?

If you are, then I want to tell you  about the Finally Fluent Academy.

This is my premium training program where  we study native English speakers from TV,  

the movies, YouTube, and the news.

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You can look in the description for  the link to learn more or you can go  

to my website and click on Finally Fluent Academy.

Now let's continue with our lesson.

Such work isn't actual pain,  of course, because remember  

we talked about something can be painful  physically or just frustrating, annoying.

So the physical, the mental expenditure, such  work, the mental expenditure isn't actual pain.

Of course, your brain has no nerve ending.

So your brain does not feel pain.

I didn't know that.

Did you know that?

So a pain in the brain is not  like having a pain in the neck.

And that's the exact example I gave before a pain.

And it is interesting because  this full expression is the idiom.

So you could say driving during  rush hour is a pain in the neck  

is the full expression to say that  something is frustrating or annoying.

But native speakers generally just leave  out in the neck and just say a pain.

So I expanded that with the full expression, but  it's in brackets to show you that it's optional.

And honestly, it's more common to just say a pain.

But the mental effort, Remember before  we described this as mental expenditure,  

The mental effort it takes to think hard can be so  

upsetting that some people will  choose physical pain instead.

So here the article ended on instead because  the alternative was already mentioned.

Think hard.

That's the alternative.

So choose physical pain instead.

But just remember, if you write out the full  alternative, you have to say instead of.

The preposition choice is of and then your  verb needs to be an ING instead of thinking.

Or I could add, instead of thinking hard,  

but you don't have to because  that alternative is clearly known.

But I just want you to remember what  preposition and the grammar that you need.

A 2020 study asked people if they would prefer to  

do a difficult memory task, remembering  if a card reappeared after a distraction.

This is the difficult memory task.

A distraction is something that causes  you to change your focus or attention.

Right now you're focusing  on this lesson, hopefully,  

but then if you heard a noise in the other  room, you might want to go see what happened.

You leave this lesson.

So that noise was a distraction.

It caused you to change your  focus or your attention.

We use this a lot in the verb form to be  distracted, to be distracted, distracted.

Notice that's the passive form.

So you have your verb to be  that needs to be conjugated  

and then distracted is always in the Ed form.

You could say, sorry, I was distracted,  sorry I didn't hear you, I was distracted.

And then you could add on, I  was distracted by the noise.

So if your friend is telling you  a story and then you realize you  

weren't actually focusing on your friend, you  were focusing on the noise in the other room.

So your friend and says So what do you think?

And then you say sorry I was distracted.

Can you say that again or experience searing pain.

So remember the choice was would you  prefer to do a difficult memory task  

or experience searing pain from a  heat device held against the skin.

Notice how my tone changed when I read that?

Because the adjective a searing pain,  that sounds like an extreme pain.

So if you burn your finger, if you do it just  like that, it probably wouldn't be searing.

But if you hold your finger on a heat source,  

then that would result in a  searing pain, an extreme pain.

Before we move on, notice they said  prefer to do a difficult memory task.

Verbs of preference often use the  gerund, but some of them are flexible.

Prefer is one of those verbs.

So you can say prefer doing or prefer to do.

In this case, they use prefer to do  remember a difficult memory task or  

experience searing extreme intense pain  from a heat device held against the skin.

Which would you prefer #1 the difficult  memory task or #2 the searing pane?

Put one or two put your choice in the comments.

One or two put it in the comments.

When the pain was minor,  most people chose the heat.

To me this is a slight contradiction  because the definition of searing pain  

is extreme or intense, so it isn't minor  because a minor pain isn't a searing pain.

To be honest, when the pain was  minor, more people chose the heat,  

but that number dropped as the pain increased.

So as it moved closer to being a searing pain,  more people chose the difficult memory task.

However, 28% of the participants still  chose physical pain over mental strain.

So mental strain.

Strain represents the expenditure,  the effort or the energy.

Strain is also a noun and it has the same  meaning as fatigue, extreme tiredness.

Personally, I hear the word  strain being used most with eyes.

A lot of people talk about eyes strain,  especially from staring at a screen all day.

So you might say my eyes become strained.

Strained.

So this is the adjective Ed  strained and then this is your verb.

My eyes become strained at the end of  the day after staring at a computer.

Or you could ask, do you know  how I can combat eye strain?

So just as they talked about combat brain fatigue,  

fight against or battle brain fatigue, you can  use combat eye strain or battle eye strain.

You could say eye fatigue, but I hear the  word strain used specifically with your eyes.

Is that a problem you have from  staring at a computer all day?

So mental strain, mental fatigue,  even when the pain was most intense.

So the pain was searing and  that was 28% of participants.

How can this be?

How could 28% of people choose a  searing pain over a mental task?

After all, many do puzzles, play chess,  

or challenge their brains in all  sorts of ways during their spare time.

Notice these verbs?

You do puzzles, but you play chess.

So in English, you just have to memorize  what verb goes with certain activities.

Sometimes the choice is between do or  make, but in this case we have do or play.

And of course, spare time is 1's leisure time,  

the time they have when they're not  working, they're not doing chores at home.

They get to relax and perhaps  play chess or do a puzzle.

Yet even in those scenarios, the scenarios where  

people are doing puzzles or playing chess  or challenging their brains in other ways.

So those are the scenarios.

Even in those scenarios, studies in the review  found people complained about the mental effort.

So if you complain about something,  

it means you express your negative  feelings or opinions about it.

I could say some students complained.

So complain is a verb.

In this case, it's in the past simple  form because it's a completed pass action.

Some students complained that  this lesson was too long.

So you can use the verb complain plus a clause.

A clause is a subject.

This lesson a verb was and  then the rest of the sentence.

A clause is a stand alone sentence.

So if I take this lesson was too long,  that is correct as a sentence on its own.

So you can use complain that and then  a clause, or you can complain about.

But if you use about, you need a something.

Some students complained about this lesson.

Now this is the actual complaint.

Now notice all complaint.

This is the noun form.

So if I saw this, this is a complaint.

It's a noun.

This lesson was too long.

And then there's some sort  of negative emoji because  

you're not satisfied or happy when you complain.

And of course, it's your right to complain  as a consumer, as a student, as a viewer.

But I certainly hope you don't have  any complaints using it as the noun.

I hope you don't have any  complaints about this lesson.

But if you do, please share them  because I will learn from them.

Let's continue to combat brain fatigue  so we understand why it's a problem.

So now we're learning about the solution.

Remember, you know this verb from before to  combat, to battle, to fight brain fatigue.

Now notice how this sentence starts  with the infinitive 2 plus base verb.

But this is short form for in order to in order  

to native speakers just drop the in  order and just use the infinitive.

But if you see this, you know it represents  in order 2 in order to combat brain fatigue.

And then following you will have a clause as well.

Now you know what a clause is.

It's a complete sentence with the subject a  verb and the rest of the sentence the object.

You can schedule regular breaks.

So this is how you are going  to combat brain fatigue.

It may seem like you are interrupting  your mental flow by getting up in the  

middle of a task, but a break, especially  a physical one such as a walk outside,  

refreshes and boosts brain power, experts say.

Now, of course, all break is a period  of rest from an activity or work.

After I record this video,  I am going to take a break.

I'll probably make a cup of  tea and then come back to work.

So if quick 5 minute break to prevent eye  strain to combat eye strain and mental fatigue.

So notice that verb you  take all break meaning one.

But you can take breaks which means multiple.

But the verb we use is to take to take a break.

Now to interrupt.

You might know this is similar to a distraction.

You are interrupted by a distraction.

The verb to interrupt is when you stop  something, usually for a short period of time.

So you're working and then a  break interrupts your mental flow.

It stops your mental flow for a period of time.

We commonly use the verb to interrupt when  someone is speaking and then someone else speaks,  

but then it causes this person to stop speaking.

This is done in a rude way, but it  can also be done in a helpful way.

A speaker could be giving a presentation,  but then the moderator could say,  

sorry to interrupt, but we're almost  out of time, please finish your speech.

So that's commonly done in  formal speeches, debates,  

or even in a meeting where you're following  a strict agenda and you have to move on.

But it's also done in a rude way.

You shouldn't interrupt your teacher  when she's teaching, for example.

But a break, we know what that  means, especially a physical 1.

So my example was to get a cup of tea.

That's not physical.

A physical one would be such as a walk outside.

So that's physical.

Of course.

It refreshes and boosts brain power.

Experts say let's practice  this when I take a break,  

notice this is in the present simple because when  represents whenever, whenever I take a break.

When I take a break, I always, always is  a keyword for the present simple as well.

So your activity will be in the present simple.

I shared mine.

When I take a break, I always get a cup of tea.

I could also say I always make a  cup of tea or have a cup of tea.

What about you?

What do you do when you take a break?

Put this sentence in the comments or  just share your activity to practice  

this expression so you're  more likely to remember it.

Finally.

So another way to combat brain fatigue.

This was one way take regular breaks, and  another way cut your brain some slack.

Oh, do you know what this means?

This is an idiom to cut one some slack.

So remember for idioms you have  to remember the exact word.

So you must use some slack and one  you can replace with whoever the  

something or someone is in this case  your brain to cut one some slack.

Remember that cut is an irregular verb.

All forms are cut the past  and the past participle.

Now this means be lenient.

So be more understanding, be less  critical and less judgmental.

So just understand that your  brain gets tired and that's OK.

Cut your brain some slack  rather than beating yourself up.

OK, so to physically beat someone  up is to to hurt them physically,  

but to beat yourself up is to  be very critical of yourself.

So students do this all the time.

My English is terrible.

My accent is so thick, my grammar is horrible.

They beat themselves up.

They're very critical of  themselves, of their English skills.

So that's an example of beating yourself up.

But in this context, to beat  yourself up, it would be,  

I've only been working for  two hours, why am I tired?

I shouldn't take a break yet.

It's only been two hours.

So that would be very being very critical of  

yourself in terms of your  mental fatigue and strain.

So cut your brain some slack,  be lenient understanding  

rather than notice this is a gerund expression,  so you need the verb in ING after rather than.

So rather than plus gerund,  rather than beating yourself up,  

rather than being very critical of yourself  because you're irritated or flustered by a  

complicated mental task, recognize that  those feelings are part of being human.

And the lesson you should remember is you should  also cut yourself some slack with your English.

You don't need to beat yourself up.

Remember that.

Now let's look at this last word,  flustered, because I really like this word.

It's fun to say flustered, flustered.

When you're flustered.

In this case, it's to be flustered.

So flustered is your adjective.

When you're flustered, it means  that you're upset, you're annoyed,  

you're frustrated, but because you're  either confused or you're stressed.

This happens to me.

I get flustered in airports, very large airports.

I find them very confusing or stressful.

I don't know where I am, I don't know where I  need to be, I don't know what the procedure is.

So I get upset but frustrated, annoyed.

I get flustered in airports.

Now this is the passive form.

You could also say airports fluster me.

So this is the active form.

Airport something to fluster someone?

Airports fluster me.

What about you?

Is there something that flusters you?

So you could say blank flusters me.

Now notice I have airports because it's plural.

It would be they so that's why I have fluster.

But if you have one item, you could  say, what could I say for one item?

Maybe math.

Math flusters me.

So this is one item.

So I add that as because it's it, it flusters me.

They airports fluster me.

So for you, thinking of the English  language, you might say phrasal verbs  

fluster me, or idioms fluster me,  or English grammar flusters me.

But the lesson here is cut your brain  some slack, cut yourself some slack.

Don't beat yourself up.

That's normal and that's part of being human.

I like this lesson at the  end of this news article.

So that's the end of the article.

What I'll do now is I'll  read it from start to finish.

And this time I want you to focus on my  pronunciation and shadow my pronunciation as well.

Combat brain fatigue with these top expert tips.

Put your thinking cap on people often here.

After all, that's what our brain is  paid for and what many are paid to do.

But a new study finds that people see  a downside of such mental expenditures.

Thinking can be a pain.

Such work isn't actual pain, of course.

Your brain has no nerve endings, so a pain in  the brain is not like having a pain in the neck.

But the mental effort it takes to think hard can  

be so upsetting that some people  will choose physical pain instead.

A2020 study asked people if they would  prefer to do a difficult memory task,  

remembering if a card reappeared after a  distraction or experienced searing pain  

from a heat device when held against the skin.

When the pain was minor,  more people chose the heat,  

but that number dropped as the pain increased.

However, 28% of the participants still  chose physical pain over mental strain,  

even when the pain was most intense.

How can this be?

After all, many do puzzles, play Chaz,  

or challenge their brains in all  sorts of ways during their spare time.

Yet even in those scenarios, studies in the review  found people complained about the mental effort.

To combat brain fatigue.

You can schedule regular breaks.

It may seem like you are interrupting  your mental flow by getting up in the  

middle of a task, but a break, especially  a physical one such as a walk outside,  

refreshes and boosts brain power, experts say.

Finally, cut your brain some slack.

Rather than beating yourself up because  you're irritated or flustered by a  

complicated mental task, recognize that  those feelings are part of being human.

Do you want me to make more  lessons just like this?

If you do them, put let's go, let's  go, put let's go in the comments.

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