Know The Dangers Of Multi Tasking

By Sneha A

Wednesday, September 30, 2015, 10:07 [IST]

Taking one thing at a time is an old notion for today’s generation. Jogging with music in ears, reading while eating, watching TV while cooking and at times it is not just two but three or four activities going together at the same time and we think that we are extremely efficient without understanding the consequences that our brains will have to face for this multi tasking that we have been performing for so many years.

Numerous researches have proved that multi tasking is not so much in our favor as we consider it to be. It does take a toll on our mind and body, and can lead us to suffer from various mental illnesses.

Multitasking: Are Women Better Than Men?

The social and physical dangers of multi tasking are quite well known but the medical problems which it can cause are yet quite unknown. People are aware that texting or chatting while driving may cause an accident but are they aware about what multi-tasking does to our brain power?

We have extremely adaptable brains and hence, when we multi task all day long we train our brains to perform accordingly and with the passage of time this becomes normal for our brains to function in a scattered manner. The consequence that we finally face of this is of very short attention spans. Once set in a particular manner, it gets very difficult task for the brain to unwind itself and be as it initially was.

11 Dangerous Effects Of Stress On Health

The following points cover the 7 health dangers of multi tasking.

1. Shrinking Of The Grey Matter

Too much of Multi tasking tends to overload you brain and this stress leads to decrease in the grey matter. After a certain period of time, this starts to show its effects in the form of memory impairment, decrease in the ability to think clearly and the ability to concentrate on a particular matter.

2. Increases Stress

As mentioned above over stimulation of the brain causes it to stress more. This leads to psychological problems as well. The person is easily frustrated, irritated, suffers from anxiety and loses patience in a very short span of time. It further affects the work life balance and keeps on accumulating and aggravating.

3. Causes Emotional Imbalance

When the brain is not able to respond as accurately and as quickly as it should have if it was focusing on a single work, it tends to cause anxiety and depression. This emotional imbalance which is caused affects all the aspects of a person's life.

4. May Indirectly Cause Obesity

People who tend to multi task more also generate a habit of over eating to compensate the excessive depletion of energy but instead of providing instant energy, it only increases the body weight.

5. Sleeping Disorders

Depression, anxiety, stress, over-eating and over-weight ultimately effects the sleeping cycle of the person too. Then the decrease in efficiency results to pending work and ultimately that too in turn does not allow for a sound sleep.