Do you make your gifts at the last minute? Science has an explanation

As Christmas Eve approaches, not many have completed their Christmas shopping. Despite the epidemiological context turning daily life and regulation upside down, the explanation lies elsewhere. According to American neuroscientists, the main reason is simply procrastination.

“I haven’t finished my gift yet, the race will be tomorrow.” Like many shoppers, Alexis delayed his search for Christmas gifts during the Advent period. However, the 22-year-old has been thinking about how best to please his loved ones since the end of November. “Every year it’s the same, sorry about it, I think about it, I think about it, but I don’t think about it.”

This year, there are plenty of excuses to explain the delay. Pandemic, fear of being in a crowded store or simply lacking time to complete a task. but according to Discover science mediaThere is another, more surprising explanation for science.

Giving a gift to someone, especially one you love, is to risk “falling out” and thus frustrating that loved one. “Anxiety can cause nervousness because the brain releases a chemical called norepinephrine. An anxious brain also reduces levels of serotonin, which regulates anxiety and happiness,” psychiatrist Sam Zand explains to the American Journal.

A way to resist the Christmas spirit

Worrying about disappointment will make the consumer postpone the crucial moment of gift-purchasing as much as possible. Procrastination allows the brain to release dopamine, the happiness hormone. The prospect of spending hours in front of the computer searching for the perfect gifts or strolling through a mall doesn’t release precious dopamine. Faced with this possibility, the brain will choose the first option, postponement.

Christmas magic will also be included. With advertisements, romantic comedies, and Christmas carols, this holiday party should be the perfect time for the family. Among the latecomers, there will be “a form of unconscious resistance, a way of saying I don’t like this party,” explains psychoanalyst Saverio Tomasella. In the columns of Paris Match.