Thanks to modern technology, drafting an email, ordering a meal or looking up that random actor’s name you can’t remember has never been easier. But some are starting to wonder whether the quicker, frictionless path isn’t always the best. Do we lose something by not engaging our brains on daily tasks?
There’s a potential fix for that very modern problem: friction-maxxing. Kathryn Jezer-Morton used the term in a January article in the Cut in which she argued that reintroducing challenges — say, cooking dinner instead of ordering on Uber Eats — can help reorient people to discomfort and, as a result, make us more … human.
While you could argue that easy feels great most days, experts we talked to said that living a frictionless life may not be the best for your cognitive function over time. “It’s basically having a personal trainer lift the weights for you,” said Lila Landowski, a neuroscientist, lecturer of biomedical sciences at the University of Tasmania and vice president of Science and Technology Australia.
We’re not talking about friction for friction’s sake — call up customer service at any major corporation if you simply want more frustration in your life — but tasks that can challenge you cognitively.
We talked to three brain and behavior experts to find out how ease and convenience affect the brain, and whether you should try a little more friction-maxxing. Here’s what they said.
Ease and convenience might affect the brain
The brain’s No. 1 job is to help you survive, Landowski said. Throughout your daily routines, the brain conducts a cost-benefit analysis to determine whether a choice is worthwhile. Challenges require more energy, so, whenever possible, the brain prefers ease to difficulty.
The brain also responds to rewards, such as the dopamine hit that comes with instant gratification (whether easy entertainment during a social media scroll or a perfectly written text message courtesy of Claude, the artificial intelligence chatbot).
Our modern environment is set up to dole out these quick rewards: “Easy things often feel good, and platforms have spent a lot of money figuring out how to keep us there,” said Emily Falk, professor of communication, psychology, marketing and operations, informatics and decisions at the University of Pennsylvania and author of “What We Value.”
Over time, frictionless living could be detrimental, according to brain health researcher Marc Milstein, author of “The Age-Proof Brain” and host of “The Best of Your Brain” podcast. That’s because brain functions such as learning, memory and focused attention are “use it or lose it.” The brain needs to practice these skills to maintain them. If you’re not regularly challenging your brain to learn, remember or pay attention, he said, those skills can erode.
Evidence from as early as 2011 suggest, for example, that people who rely on Google for answers have lower rates of recall. More recent studies confirm that easy-to-find information might affect the ability to learn: In a study from 2021, researchers gave 196 participants a multiple-choice quiz. Participants who looked up answers with a search engine scored lower compared with those who did not use the internet (even though participants expressed similar levels of confidence about their scores). These findings suggest that using search engines to learn new information may affect the brain’s ability to effectively store information.
Milstein said the same thing is happening with the rise of AI tools like ChatGPT. “I hear people say they felt like their memories were better a few years ago, which is understandable in a world where everything is at our fingertips,” Milstein said.
In a 2025 study, researchers looked at 580 university students, 57 percent of whom used AI on a daily basis while the rest used it several times a week. They found greater AI use was linked to a reduction in critical thinking skills, possibly because of an association with cognitive fatigue — a depletion of mental resources essential for complex thinking. In another 2025 study, which looked at 666 people of diverse ages and educational backgrounds, a researcher found that AI was linked to a reduction in critical thinking skills. Cognitive off-loading, which is essentially using tools to reduce the cognitive load on your working memory, might impair the ability to engage in deep reflection.
The benefits of friction-maxxing
As the brain ages, Milstein explains, it naturally loses connections between brain cells, which can affect memory, attention and the ability to learn new information. Taking on friction-filled challenges, such as learning new things, is like investing in a financial account as you age, he added.
Research on cognitive reserve theory shows these things cause the brain to form new connections, which increases the overall reserve. “The more you deposit, the less you notice the withdrawals,” Milstein said.
Falk believes the benefit of friction-maxxing lies in its potential for creating a more meaningful life, not necessarily boosting cognition. For example, the ease of writing an email with AI might make you feel good in the moment — but if you value communication or building social skills, Falk said, it may not align with your big-picture goals (and may make life feel less meaningful). “When we make choices that seem immediately rewarding but don’t take a step back to ask if those choices are compatible with big-picture goals and values, we can get in trouble,” she said.
The good news: Even if the frictionless pathways in your brain are well-worn, you can take simple steps to override them. According to Falk, adding a reward — like enjoying your favorite podcast while you cook — can reduce the perception of friction that comes from cooking rather than ordering takeout. This may help train the brain to repeat the behavior, so it becomes a habit. “When we set up routines and environments to work with our brain’s tendency to want rewards, we can end up in a better spot,” she said.
5 ways to try friction-maxxing
Your whole life doesn’t need to be filled with friction, but Milstein said infusing your day with “friction moments” can help keep your brain function healthy over time. Want to try friction-maxxing? The below steps are a great place to start.
1. Try puzzles and games you’re not good at
Puzzles and games can challenge your brain, but don’t just play ones you’re good at. If sudoku comes easily, try a word game instead. “You wouldn’t go to the gym and only work out your arms,” Milstein said. “Your brain needs the same type of cross-training.”
2. Learn something new
Learning a new-to-you, slightly challenging skill like a game, language or even a new workout method, Milstein said, is another proven way to preserve brain function. Along with creating new connections in the brain, these challenges facilitate the release of the hormone norepinephrine, which helps sharpen focus and support learning.
3. Cook a recipe
Even one or two nights a week, make an effort to prepare a meal. Milstein said searching for a new recipe, shopping for ingredients and following steps to prepare the meal can create meaningful connections in the brain. To add friction, put your phone away while you eat.
4. See a friend in person
Instead of texting or emailing a friend, call them or make plans to meet them. You’ll need to remember how to get where you’re going and details about your friend, Milstein said, along with using social skills that strengthen your brain and your relationship.
5. Don’t look up the answer
When you’re trying to remember something, don’t be quick to search for the answer. For example, introduce friction at the store by trying to recall what you need to buy as you walk through the aisles. “Embrace the feeling of needing to take time to remember this instead of looking it up,” Milstein said.
A simple reframe may help: Rather than a way to add challenges, think of friction-maxxing as aligning your daily choices with your values, which can make life feel more rewarding and meaningful. “People tend to think of friction as negative, but you can also view it as intention,” Falk said. “Friction can be positive if it causes you to take a step back and think about how you want to spend your life.”
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