From boring lectures to long meetings, zoning out is very common. When you stop paying attention to what’s going on around you and stare into space, tuning out the external world for a bit, you will snap back and might feel guilty for not paying attention. But it turns out it’s not really something to be concerned about. These infrequent moments of zoning out actually may benefit you more than you realize.
The researchers conducted an experiment where the participants were asked to do a computer-based task. The task had secret patterns which the participants were not aware of and they were not instructed to look for them. This unclear instruction was to analyze the unconscious learning of the brain. When the participant’s minds wandered, they found that after zoning out and returning to the task, the participants were actually better at finding the hidden patterns. The researchers detected this through brainwaves measured by EEG caps. They solved the tasks by themselves.
The Brain’s activity is similar to when we are sleeping. When the brain zones out, it makes slow-wave patterns which resemble certain stages of sleep. Mind wandering may be giving the brain mini rest periods while we are awake, and much like how sleep strengthens memory, these brief space-outs give the brain time to process the information at hand.
RELATED STORIES
https://www.onlymyhealth.com/zoning-out-is-your-brains-hidden-superpower-says-study-12977828721
https://medium.com/better-humans/supercharge-your-mind-by-zoning-out-productively-e33fd69e6554
https://mcgovern.mit.edu/2021/03/25/whats-happening-in-your-brain-when-youre-spacing-out/
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https://www.sanaross.com/the-neuroscience-of-achieving-more/neuroscience-backed-time-blocking
https://fs.blog/brain-rules-12-things-we-know-about-how-the-brain-works/
