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It’s good to see science catch up with this blog.
For years now I have expressed my serious doubts about the
value of multitasking. See posts here and here.
Now, scientists have discovered that too much multitasking
will shrink your brain.
The Daily Mail has the story:
If you
are sending a text, watching the TV or listening to the radio, you may want to
stop and give this your full attention.
Multi-tasking
shrinks the brain, research suggests.
A study
found that men and women who frequently used several types of technology at the
same time had less grey matter in a key part of the brain.
University
of Sussex researchers said: ‘Simultaneously using mobile phones, laptops and
other media devices could be changing the structure of our brains.’
Worryingly,
the part of the brain that shrinks is involved in processing emotion.
The finding
follows research which has linked multi-tasking with a shortened attention
span, depression, anxiety and lower grades at school.
And also:
Multi-tasking
with gadgets may shorten attention span, making it harder to focus and form
memories, the researchers said, adding that youngsters may be particularly
affected by stress.
So, it better to learn to focus on one task at a time. Your
brain will thank you.
2 comments:
Yikes. I hope these findings don't apply to the simple act of listening to background music while one works. Otherwise, I'm in deep trouble.
Multitasking diffuses reinforcing patterns, which form the basis of mental and physical attributes. Automation narrows a development field. Specifically, it limits development of unique individual characteristics, especially perception.
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