Researchers at Yale School of Medicine studied what happens in your brain during in-person conversations versus Zoom calls.

And the results were striking.

Face-to-face interactions produced strong, complex neural signaling.

But on Zoom? That activity was "substantially suppressed."

People speaking in-person had increased gaze time and larger pupil diameters—signs of heightened brain arousal.

Their brains also synchronized with each other, likely from the rapid exchange of social cues that happens naturally when you share physical space.

On Zoom, that synchronization disappeared.

Senior study author Joy Hirsch put it bluntly:

"Zoom appears to be an impoverished social communication system relative to in-person conditions."

Your Brain Evolved for Real Faces

Your brain is wired to pick up on facial cues during conversation.

Micro-expressions. Eye movements. Subtle shifts in posture.

A flat image on a screen doesn't give your brain enough to work with.

The social circuitry that activates when you're sitting across from someone simply doesn't fire the same way when you're looking at pixels.

Your brain knows it's not the real thing—even if you consciously don't.

Zoom Fatigue & Mirror Anxiety

That exhaustion you feel after back-to-back virtual meetings?

It has a name… researchers call it "virtual meeting fatigue."

And it's associated with anxiety, depression, stress, reduced life satisfaction, and lower productivity.

Part of the problem is something called "mirror anxiety."

When you see yourself on screen during a call, it triggers negative self-focused attention.

You're not just having a conversation—you're watching yourself have a conversation. That's psychologically draining.

Interestingly, women and Asian participants experience this effect more than others.

What You Can Do

Virtual meetings aren't going away. But you can minimize the damage.

Turn your camera off when it's not essential.

This reduces mirror anxiety and gives your brain a break from self-monitoring.

Take breaks between calls.

Even five minutes helps reset your cognitive load.

Get outside.

Natural light and distance vision are protective for your eyes—and restorative for your brain.

And whenever possible, have the conversation in person.

Your neural circuitry will thank you.

Until next time,

Kashif Khan

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