Multi-task can affect your brain

Multi-Tasking Can Damage Your Brain and Career in These 3 Shocking Ways.

Dr. Ramakant Gadiwan

Certified * (GMHAT-PC) University of Chester, (U.K.)* Master Hypnotist, California (U.S.A.), Ph.D (Psychology), D.M. , D.C.H. , M.B.A.

Psychologist • 3 People helped • 7 Year experience

"Multi-tasking can damage your brain and career in these 3 shocking ways.

In the present day and age, everyone’s always in a hurry. This has increased the tendency of multitasking in most people, whether it’s at their workplace, at home or while eating.
Studies have indicated that completing a single task at a time scores over multitasking and the latter even has some scary after-effects. It’s been proven that multitasking can have a huge negative influence on your brain as well as your career. Read on to find out the three ways in which multitasking is actually doing you more harm than good.

1. Your IQ level is lowered due to multitasking

Studies have revealed that multitasking can slow down your responses and even lower your IQ. A study conducted by the University of London observed a group of adults who were regularly asked to multitask. The results showed a considerable decline in the IQ level of the participants and the effects of multitasking were equated with those experienced after smoking marijuana or remaining awake all night. It was also observed that the IQ drop among some of the men resulted in them achieving IQ scores that match that of an 8-year-old child.

2. Multitasking can harm your brain

A research conducted by the University of Sussex, UK, proved that multitasking can lower your brain density in the anterior cingulate cortex (the area responsible for your emotional and cognitive control). This study analysed the MRI scans of the brains of the participants while they were multitasking (like working with multiple electronic devices). In conclusion, the researchers found out that the processes going on in the human body while interacting with multiple devices at once affect the brain’s natural structure negatively, thus hampering your ability to make wise decisions.

3. Multitasking worsens your performance at work

Studies reveal that multitasking exposes your brain to multiple streams of electronic information at once, which drastically interferes with your capacities of paying attention and remembering details.
Organizing thoughts in a proper manner also becomes difficult for people who multitask. They often fail to differentiate between relevant and irrelevant data, and show slow responses when asked to switch from one task to another. Your brain has been designed to handle and focus on only one task as a time, so if you multitask it cannot perform the multiple tasks with the same efficiency and speed. As a result, the quality of work reduces and your productivity decreases to a large extent if this continues for a long time. Moreover, multitasking can have a negative impact on your overall performance at your workplace, which can adversely impact your career in the long run.

So, if you find yourself multitasking often due to lack of time or work pressure, don’t let it turn into a regular habit. This will not only keep the quality of your work intact, but will also save you from potential brain damage.

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