The Brain Can Only Take So Much Focus
The science behind &quot;ego depletion&quot; is at very least controversial, namely because the effect has not been reproduced in subsequent experiments.<p>* Wikipedia provides a good summary of replication attempts: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Ego_depletion#Reproducibility_controversy_and_conflicting_meta_analyses" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Ego_depletion#Reproducibility_...</a><p>* Slate covered the topic here: <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.slate.com&#x2F;articles&#x2F;health_and_science&#x2F;cover_story&#x2F;2016&#x2F;03&#x2F;ego_depletion_an_influential_theory_in_psychology_may_have_just_been_debunked.html" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.slate.com&#x2F;articles&#x2F;health_and_science&#x2F;cover_story...</a><p>* And here is a recent, large replication study: <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;journals.sagepub.com&#x2F;doi&#x2F;full&#x2F;10.1177&#x2F;1745691616652873" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;journals.sagepub.com&#x2F;doi&#x2F;full&#x2F;10.1177&#x2F;174569161665287...</a><p>As a result, I would hesitate before using &quot;ego depletion&quot; as an excuse for rationalizing a lack of self-control (eg. giving into &quot;cheat foods&quot; or being irritable&#x2F;impulsive). Whether or not &quot;ego depletion&quot; is real, science has not yet adequately validated the theory.<p>Moreover, there is a risk to accepting the theory as true: because one believes in &quot;ego depletion,&quot; one can rationalize a lower degree of self-control, which may have been higher otherwise. This creates a self-fulfilling prophecy.<p>I think it is fair to assume that, given the current research, &quot;ego depletion&quot; is no more than a reasonable hypothesis. It is possible that willpower may not fit the &quot;finite resource&quot; model at all.