renee.t.edge Do you have kids at home? Are they convinced that multitasking is the best thing ever…getting multiple things done at once?
I wanted to share with you a few facts about the effects of multi-tasking- something that has been increasingly problematic in our perpetually electronically connected world.
📱According to research out of the University of London, doing several activities at once reduces our brain’s IQ, the same as smoking marijuana.
💻The University of Sussex has shown how the brain damage for those who multi-task is permanent. MRIs show that those prone to multi-tasking have a lower density that others in their frontal cortex. This is the part of the brain responsible for empathy, as well as cognitive and emotional control.
📱Daniel Levitin, neuroscientist and psychologist says that when we work in multi-taking mode we use considerable cognitive effort. This causes an increase in the production of cortisol, the stress hormone, and adrenaline. In combination, these can lead to aggressive attitudes.
💻The University of Michigan conducted a study which saw a correlation between multitasking and an increased tendency towards anxiety and depression.
I went to check for studies on the benefits of multi-tasking…and I could not find any. I know personally, I had to give up watching TV because trying to correct papers at the same time made it take hours longer than it would have otherwise. Maybe it is time to put away our desire to do it all at the same time for focused effort on a single task.
What would you focus your effort on first?
Curious about the science behind this? Consider looking at this article- Multicosts of Multitasking
