Is your brain OD-ing on digital devices? Do you even remember the last time you went for at least three hours without fiddling with your BlackBerry, iPhone, Macbook or Twitter updates?
Though this may be old and hardly groundbreaking news, it is worth repeating over and over again: our brains need regular breaks from e-mails, blog feeds and other online distractions to properly process information and to recharge for more effective learning in the future. As reported recently in the New York Times, studies from lab rats show that when rats take a rest from learning a new activity, they are be
tter able to retain the new information for future experiences. The main take-away being this:
The technology makes the tiniest windows of time entertaining, and potentially productive. But scientists point to an unanticipated side effect: when people keep their brains busy with digital input, they are forfeiting downtime that could allow them to better learn and remember information, or come up with new ideas.
And the past studies, cited in the same article, suggesting that people in mega-urban environments feel much more mentally rested after taking a break in a very nature-heavy setting? Too much information overload simply is not good for the mind, body and soul.
Don’t get me wrong, sometimes technological devices do come in a lot of handy. Sometimes e-mails really are urgent, and nothing like a cellphone GPS to help you navigate your car that out-of-the-way dinner potluck you are running late for. But more often than not? It won’t kill you to put down that damn iPad for at least an hour or two when you can enjoy an offline walk around the neighborhood or heaven forbid, actual face-to-face time with an old friend.
And those tiny windows of time that happen from waiting in line at the supermarket, waiting for the bus or waiting for your friend to come over? Rather than automatically filling those few minutes with more apps and status feeds, use your imagination to imagine what people did with themselves in the pre-internet age: read a physical book or even better, Zen out with some mindful mini-meditations where you simply get mentally still and absorb the present-ness that is happening all around you.
If you really think about it, taking regular breaks from information overload is actually the most time-saving and productive strategy for the long run. A well-rested brain will learn useful new information faster, come up with new ideas more effectively, and process the meaning of past experiences to use more diligently for future events.
However many cool digital devices we have at our fingertips in this day and age, let us not forget that the most important and sophisticated computer that needs our uttermost care and attention is the gray-pink matter lying right within our noggins.
PHOTO (cc): Flickr / Frederic Poirot
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