The issue of intermittency in numerical solutions of the 3D Navier–Stokes equations on a periodic box ${[0, L] }^{3} $ is addressed through four sets of numerical simulations that calculate a new set of variables defined by ${D}_{m} (t)= {({ \varpi }_{0}^{- 1} {\Omega }_{m} )}^{{\alpha }_{m} } $ for $1\leq m\leq \infty $ where ${\alpha }_{m} = 2m/ (4m- 3)$ and ${[{\Omega }_{m} (t)] }^{2m} = {L}^{- 3} \int \nolimits _{\mathscr{V}} {\vert \boldsymbol{\omega} \vert }^{2m} \hspace{0.167em} \mathrm{d} V$ with ${\varpi }_{0} = \nu {L}^{- 2} $. All four simulations unexpectedly show that the ${D}_{m} $ are ordered for $m= 1, \ldots , 9$ such that ${D}_{m+ 1} \lt {D}_{m} $. Moreover, the ${D}_{m} $ squeeze together such that ${D}_{m+ 1} / {D}_{m} \nearrow 1$ as $m$ increases. The values of ${D}_{1} $ lie far above the values of the rest of the ${D}_{m} $, giving rise to a suggestion that a depletion of nonlinearity is occurring which could be the cause of Navier–Stokes regularity. The first simulation is of very anisotropic decaying turbulence; the second and third are of decaying isotropic turbulence from random initial conditions and forced isotropic turbulence at fixed Grashof number respectively; the fourth is of very-high-Reynolds-number forced, stationary, isotropic turbulence at up to resolutions of $409{6}^{3} $.