Ever shushed the people in your car or turned down the music when you’re trying to merge into traffic, and then felt completely insane?
Why would a quiet car help you see better?
After performing MRI tests on 32 participants, the researchers discovered that when people were focusing on something visual, the responsiveness of their auditory nerves which enable you to hear decreased.
That means your brain actually “turns down” your hearing so you don’t become distracted by sounds when you need to concentrate on what you see, says lead researcher Patrik Sörqvist, Ph.D. It’s your brain’s way of prioritizing tasks.
It’s not impossible to search while listening to songs, but our search mission becomes less effective because our focus is divided into two.
When a song is slowed down as we search, the processing capacity of the brain can focus more on the visual sense.
“The evidence we have today is very strong that attention is very limited. When attention is directed to one modality (such as talking on the phone), it draws attention away from other modalities (visual, nose and touch senses, for example).
As such, the focusing capacity can be fully utilized as we eliminate other distracting elements. Fatigue is also one of the elements that affect the focus, which is difficult to pay attention to when the body and brain are tired. The same goes for depression.
As we grow older, one’s focus capacity will decrease and processing requirements will also increase. While our brain’s focusing capacity is limited, we can still do two or three things at a time. We can train our brains to stay efficient even when it comes to sharing.
First, keep it simple. If you have to multitask, do simple tasks. It is not possible to write a novel, it is also time to understand the theory of relativity. Einstein didn’t do that either.
Second, do completely different tasks. For example, while jogging, you can talk lightly with family or friends. Do activities that move different parts of our brain.
Third, practice. At first, it was hard to focus on two or three jobs at a time. But if we practice and work out how we work, things can get a little old.
But please do not practice talking on the phone while driving. Without realizing that both tasks require full focus capacity.
Sources: Sharp brains.com