Two or three times a day, rather than
Posted: Mon Feb 03, 2025 4:19 am
Even if we can resist the urge to constantly check our phones and emails, it may not be enough. According to Earl Miller, a professor of neuroscience at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, just being in a situation where you potentially have to multitask can lower your IQ by 10 points. Just thinking about unread emails and messages can cause brain activity to slow down, similar to the effects of a sleepless night.
A simple solution? I don't think there is. While multitasking increases cortisol and adrenaline levels, it also creates a feedback loop with dopamine. We feel a sense of accomplishment every time we respond to a message, even though the task we completed appeared on our phone screen seconds ago and was unknown to us until that moment. As a result, the brain is rewarded every time it loses focus, creating the smartphone addiction we all hear about almost daily.
It’s also a social phenomenon. We are expected to be available spain number data 24 hours a day, able to juggle multiple tasks and roles, and punished if we allow ourselves to fall behind schedule. While technology continues to push us to be more efficient, it also undermines it, constantly increasing speed and expectations that push us into a frantic juggling act that seems never-ending. So what can be done about it?
Decision
The problem can only be solved in general through a social adjustment of expectations, which may or may not happen. But there are some things we can do to help ourselves cope with this overload and prevent some of its most unpleasant consequences.
According to Dr. Levitin, the most important thing we can do to limit multitasking is to set up distraction management, examples of which are email and the phone.
His main advice is to read emails and messages on social networks and messengers when each one arrives. Many apps allow you to set a time at which all the latest messages will arrive.
A simple solution? I don't think there is. While multitasking increases cortisol and adrenaline levels, it also creates a feedback loop with dopamine. We feel a sense of accomplishment every time we respond to a message, even though the task we completed appeared on our phone screen seconds ago and was unknown to us until that moment. As a result, the brain is rewarded every time it loses focus, creating the smartphone addiction we all hear about almost daily.
It’s also a social phenomenon. We are expected to be available spain number data 24 hours a day, able to juggle multiple tasks and roles, and punished if we allow ourselves to fall behind schedule. While technology continues to push us to be more efficient, it also undermines it, constantly increasing speed and expectations that push us into a frantic juggling act that seems never-ending. So what can be done about it?
Decision
The problem can only be solved in general through a social adjustment of expectations, which may or may not happen. But there are some things we can do to help ourselves cope with this overload and prevent some of its most unpleasant consequences.
According to Dr. Levitin, the most important thing we can do to limit multitasking is to set up distraction management, examples of which are email and the phone.
His main advice is to read emails and messages on social networks and messengers when each one arrives. Many apps allow you to set a time at which all the latest messages will arrive.