Recent neuroscience discoveries about the locus coeruleus — a part of the brain composed of just 50,000 neurons — may have profound implications for both how we think about human performance as well as our culture of constant connectivity and max productivity.
According to new research, a minuscule blue-pigmented structure, barely a few millimeters in size, functions as the brain's gearbox, orchestrating our entire cognitive state through four distinct "gears" of operation. First identified in the late 18th century, it took nearly 250 years to understand its true significance — a reminder that sometimes important discoveries can hide in plain sight.
A striking revelation of the research is that peak performance doesn't happen when our brain is in its top 3rd gear — a finding that runs counter to Silicon Valley's "move fast and break things" ethos and Wall Street's celebration of 100-hour work weeks. Studies monitoring pupil dilation (a direct proxy for locus coeruleus activity) show
a moderate engaged state. In a controlled study at Leiden University, participants showed peak accuracy in attention tasks precisely during this middle-ground activation—not at the maximum nor at the low engagement gear 1.
Research indicates our brain can only maintain high levels of focus for limited periods before fatigue sets in, suggesting that traditional 8-hour continuous workdays may be biologically suboptimal. The timing implications are particularly compelling: research shows creative work peaks in early morning as we ease into Gear 2, while
This biological reality creates what could be a profound opportunity in the human capital optimization space, currently estimated at $400 billion globally but largely built on outdated assumptions about human performance. For example, in a recent study, participants achieved measurable control over their locus coeruleus activity in just three daily sessions using pupil-dilation feedback systems. When you consider that ADHD medications like Ritalin—which work partly by moderating locus coeruleus activity—generated $16.4 billion in 2023, the potential market for alternative, non-pharmaceutical approaches becomes clear.
The greatest mispricing, however, may be in the market's persistent belief that more is always better. As this understanding permeates corporate consciousness, we might see a fundamental rerating of companies that align with rather than fight against our biology. The shift won't be immediate—market inefficiencies rarely are—but the combination of compelling science and massive addressable markets suggests significant value creation potential.
The key is not just identifying this trend but finding the right entry point. We're watching this space carefully, particularly for companies that understand this shift isn't just about workplace wellness—it's about fundamentally optimizing human capital for the way our brains actually work.
