There’s an article in the Atlantic Monthly (subscription only, but summarised here) which highlights a recent neuroscience study examining how multi-tasking affects both the mind and our body:

“Multi-tasking messes with our brains in several ways. At the most basic level, the mental balancing acts that it requires—the constant switching and pivoting—energize regions of the brain that specialize in visual processing and physical coordination and simultaneously appear to shortchange some of the higher areas related to memory and learning.”

As the article points out, finding out that that multi-tasking doesn’t make us more productive isn’t new news.

But as usage of always-on social networking and micro-blogging tools such as Twitter or Facebook proliferates in both volume and frequency, alongside the increased use of tabbed browsing, RSS feeds, Blackberries and IM, could our ‘always-on’ multi-tasking actually be making us even less mentally acute?

Studies have apparently shown that mentally juggling several tasks switches on the areas of the brain which deal with in visual processing and physical coordination - but at the same time “simultaneously appear to shortchange some of the higher areas related to memory and learning.” Moreover, multi-tasking appears to boost levels of stress-related hormones (e.g. cortisol and adrenaline) - which can wear down our systems through biochemical friction, in the long term potentially leading to brain atrophy.

If this is true, not only does my endless switching between various apps serve as endless procrastination to avoid doing anything potentially productive, but may also be hastening the inexorable decline of my grey matter into a steaming pile of mush. Who said modern technology wasn’t life-improving?!

[ via A Better Course ]