The Yerkes-Dodson Law

Yerkes and Dodson's 1908 mouse study later became the source for a broader inverted-U idea about arousal and performance: some pressure can help, too much can hurt, and too little can leave you disengaged.

Treat that curve as a useful heuristic, not a universal law. Simple, well-practiced tasks may tolerate more intensity, while complex work often needs steadier arousal. The useful question is not "more pressure or less?" but "what level fits this task?"