Multitasking over loads the brain

The brain works most efficiently when it can focus on a single task for a longer period of time

Date:

April 25, 2017

Source:

Aalto University

Summary:

Previous research shows that multitasking, which means performing several tasks at the same time, reduces productivity by as much as 40%. Now a group of researchers specializing in brain imaging has found that changing tasks too frequently interferes with brain activity. This may explain why the end result is worse than when a person focuses on one task at a time.

Aalto University Associate Professor Iiro Jaaskelainen and his team used functional MRI to observe various areas of the brain of each research subject as the watched short segments of action movies.

The results of the study coincide with others that show productivity during multitasking can be reduced by as much as 40%

Jaaskelainen pointed out that attempting to multitask it seems like there is little real progress which can lead to feeling of inadequacy, cause decreased ability to concentrate and lead to high stress levels.

In Psychology Today (2011) Darcy Sterling, Ph.D. talks about the myth of multitasking.

"Humans can only focus on one thought or task at a time. The concept of multitasking is actually a misnomer, as it involves continuous ‘switch-tasking,' which is to say, moving back and forth between tasks. The problem with (and the nature of) switch-tasking is that no one task gets our full attention. Instead, tasks get our partial attention. With each switch, it takes time for us to reorient to the task at hand. At the end of the day, all that reorienting adds up to an enormous amount of time wasted and we feel like we've been on an intellectual treadmill for hours."

from Business Insider

Paolo Cardini: Forget multitasking, try monotasking