Wired But Tired? – How to Restore Your Focus, Body, and Soul in the Age of AI
- Brainz Magazine
- Jun 24
- 7 min read
Dr. Veal, a board-certified psychiatrist and educator based in La Jolla, California, specializes in mental health, lifestyle medicine, and resilience. With extensive clinical, healthcare, and military experience, he delivers holistic, person-centered care through psychodynamic therapy, medication management, and evidence-based education.
In an era where technology promises ease, connection, and peak productivity, many of us find ourselves paradoxically depleted. We track our sleep, optimise our schedules, and automate our lives, yet still feel scattered, restless, and burned out. The more efficient we become, the more our inner world seems to fray.
"Man has, as it were, become a kind of prosthetic God... but those organs have not grown on him, and they still give him much trouble at times." — Sigmund Freud, Civilization and Its Discontents (1930)
When efficiency hurts more than it helps
Last week, I found myself in a paradox that many of us can relate to. Despite a highly productive week, where I ticked off every task on my calendar, stayed physically active, and even kept my inbox close to zero, I didn't feel accomplished. Instead, I felt depleted and hollow. This paradox of high output but low fulfillment is a question many of us are quietly asking. If technology helps us "do more," why do we feel like less? This article examines how our digital lives are transforming our bodies, minds, and sense of self, and what we can do to regain balance in a hyperconnected world.
1. The body on autopilot
Technology, while designed to eliminate friction, also removes many of the small, meaningful forms of physical engagement that keep us well. From ordering groceries to remote work and virtual hangouts, we increasingly move through life with our bodies on standby, a trend worth noting, as it significantly affects our physical wellbeing. One night this week, I glanced at my smartwatch just before bed. It told me I hadn't hit my ideal "readiness score." Suddenly, despite feeling sleepy and nourished from the day, I felt inadequate. That moment stuck with me.
Devices blur the boundary between day and night. The glow of screens, especially before bed, disrupts natural sleep rhythms. Sleep trackers may help us measure rest, but they can also fuel anxiety about whether we're sleeping "well enough." More subtly, our overreliance on tech dulls our awareness of internal bodily cues. The ability to feel when we're hungry, tense, or calm, what researchers call interoception, can be diminished by chronic screen time. We've built a lifestyle of convenience. But the cost is often disconnection from our bodies.
2. The distracted mind
Our brains didn't evolve to process a constant influx of emails, notifications, headlines, and social media posts. Yet many of us are exposed to hundreds of micro-interruptions each day.
Attention, once a sanctuary, is now fragmented. Research shows that the more we multitask, the worse we get at filtering distractions, recalling information, and switching focus. We feel busy but not necessarily productive.
This mental overload spills into relationships. Minor digital distractions, like glancing at a phone mid-conversation, erode trust and emotional intimacy. "Technoference," the interference of technology in close relationships, is now an emerging psychological concern.
Social media amplifies this fragmentation. Scrolling through curated snapshots of other people's lives can distort our self-perception, feeding anxiety and dissatisfaction. The digital mirror often reflects not our lives, but our insecurities.
We're living in a world designed to steal our attention. Reclaiming it is a daily act of self-preservation.
3. Burnout in the optimization trap
There is a growing pressure not only to perform but also to optimize every aspect of life. Productivity apps, sleep scores, step counts, and biofeedback devices all promise improvement. But when even self-care becomes a metric, wellness starts to feel like another job.
This mindset can backfire. Rather than fostering joy or resilience, it leads to emotional exhaustion and burnout. Burnout isn't just about being tired, it's about feeling disconnected from purpose and unsure whether your effort matters. Globally, this isn't a fringe issue. In Japan, the phenomenon of death by overwork is so common it has a name: karoshi. Even in high-tech cultures that promote work-life tools, the pressure to produce often overshadows the permission to pause. We've upgraded our tools. Now we must upgrade our relationship with effort and rest.
4. Beyond the machine: Rethinking wisdom in the AI age
With AI now writing for us, recommending what to eat, and even suggesting how we feel, it's tempting to let machines handle more of life's thinking. But AI doesn't "understand" us. It doesn't possess wisdom, just algorithms. Insight, intuition, and meaning are human domains. And when we offload those, we risk forgetting how to navigate nuance, make mistakes, or trust our inner compass.
In healthcare, for instance, AI can process diagnostics faster than clinicians, but it cannot empathize with a patient's fear, adapt to unspoken needs, or counsel through grief. It's a tool, not a therapist. We confuse efficiency with understanding, but real understanding lives in relationships, not codes.
Cultural wisdom from around the world
Other cultures offer glimpses into more mindful approaches to digital life:
South Korea now hosts "digital detox" cafes, where phones are locked away, allowing people to reconnect face-to-face.
Bhutan ties national tech strategies to Gross National Happiness, measuring well-being alongside bandwidth.
Many Indigenous traditions rely on oral storytelling, ritual, and deep presence, practices that resist digital fragmentation.
These models remind us that technology is a choice. So is how we relate to it.
Five key lessons to reclaim your humanity in a digital world
Reclaim physicality: Don't just track your body, use it. Take movement breaks without devices. Let exercise be intuitive, not data-driven.
Protect rest from optimization: Make bedrooms screen-free. Swap tracking for trust. Sleep is not a performance, it's a practice of letting go.
Curate input with care: Follow sources that inspire. Turn off notifications. Choose your information diet as intentionally as your food.
Practice deep presence: Make room for tech-free rituals, such as family dinners, walks, or simply taking the time to notice the sky. Connection thrives in undivided attention.
Let AI assist, but don't outsource the soul: Use technology to support your goals, not define them. Let your values lead, and let the tools follow.
Pause for a moment: Which of these five feels most urgent to reclaim in your life right now?
Final reflection
We are, in Freud's words, prosthetic gods, powerful, augmented, and increasingly entangled with our tools. But power without intention can quickly become imbalanced. Over the past week, I ticked all the boxes: I moved my body, met deadlines, practiced Ba Duan Jin with my Sifu, and kept pace with the rhythm of digital life. Yet by the end of it, I didn't feel fulfilled; I felt drained. That disconnect led me to a humbling realization: you can do everything "right" and still feel off-center when the systems you move through are misaligned with your nervous system, your values, and your natural rhythms.
The lesson is not to abandon technology, it's to reimagine how we use it. Not as a master to serve, but as a tool to support. Not as a measure of our worth, but as a partner to our deeper intentions.
This week reminded me that efficiency without embodiment is a recipe for burnout. That productivity without presence leaves us depleted. And that authentic restoration requires more than recovery, it requires realignment.
Let your tools serve you, but let your values lead.
The future isn't just digital. It's also deeply human, and we get to choose how to shape both.
Read more from Timothy Veal
Timothy Veal, Board Certified Psychiatrist and Educator
Dr. Veal is a board-certified psychiatrist and educator based in La Jolla, California, specializing in mental health, lifestyle medicine, and resilience. With extensive experience in clinical practice, military service, and organizational consulting, he offers unique insights into the human condition and adaptability. His approach combines practical knowledge, cultural awareness, and comprehensive mental health education to promote personal and organizational growth. Dr. Veal also provides holistic, person-centered care, integrating psychodynamic therapy, medication management, and evidence-based strategies. Learn more about his work and insights by visiting his profile page.
References:
World Health Organization. (2020). Global action plan on physical activity 2018–2030: More active people for a healthier world. Geneva: WHO.
Chang, A. M., Aeschbach, D., Duffy, J. F., & Czeisler, C. A. (2015). Evening use of light-emitting eReaders negatively affects sleep, circadian timing, and next-morning alertness. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 112(4), 1232–1237.
Baron, K. G., Abbott, S., Jao, N., Manalo, N., & Mullen, R. (2017). Orthosomnia: Are some patients taking the quantified self too far? Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 13(2), 351–354.
Maslach, C., & Leiter, M. P. (2016). Understanding the burnout experience: Recent research and its implications for psychiatry. World Psychiatry, 15(2), 103–111.
McDaniel, B. T., & Coyne, S. M. (2016). “Technoference”: The interference of technology in couple relationships and implications for women’s personal and relational well-being. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 5(1), 85–98.
Pavuluri, S., Lingard, L., Crichton, A., et al. (2024). Balancing act: The complex role of artificial intelligence in addressing burnout and healthcare workforce dynamics. BMJ Health & Care Informatics, 31, e101120.
Alang, N. (2024). Will AI actually mean we’ll be able to work less? The Walrus.
Topol, E. J. (2019). High-performance medicine: The convergence of human and artificial intelligence. Nature Medicine, 25, 44–56.
Atkinson, R. D. (2025). Computation is not mentation. TAP Magazine.
Fardouly, J., & Vartanian, L. R. (2016). Social media and body image concerns: Current directions in research. Current Opinion in Psychology, 9, 1–5.
Ophir, E., Nass, C., & Wagner, A. D. (2009). Cognitive control in media multitaskers. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 106(37), 15583–15587.
Mehling, W. E., Price, C. J., Daubenmier, J. J., Acree, M., Bartmess, E., & Stewart, A. (2012). The Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness (MAIA). PLOS ONE, 7(11), e48230.
