Writers need to feed their brains, but could it be that the obesity epidemic also applies to our heads?
The New York Times reports that we may be stopping ourselves from processing and remembering information if we don't take some time away from constant stimulation. The article by Matt Richtel, says:
“Almost certainly, downtime lets the brain go over experiences it’s had, solidify them and turn them into permanent long-term memories,” said Loren Frank, assistant professor in the department of physiology at the university, where he specializes in learning and memory. He said he believed that when the brain was constantly stimulated, “you prevent this learning process.”
Activities like exercising, taking a walk, or waiting for a bus or train used to give us time to think about nothing in particular. Now it's rare to see someone doing any of these without listening to music, texting, phoning, playing a game on their phone, or some combination of those.
One person they interviewed who found himself constantly checking his phone made a very astute observation. "It's become a demand," he said. "Not a demand of my customer, but a demand of my head."
I think that's a key point--we may feel that others demand that be contactable 24/7, but do they really? Or does it just make us feel more important to think so? Would we be any less successful if we just took a walk, noticed the trees and the other people passing by, or let our minds wander where they will? I wish I had time to ponder that, but it's been almost two minutes since I checked my email.
