Getting lots of things done at once is often worn as a badge of honour—but multitasking might be making us ill.
A leading GP has warned that constant multitasking, which is when you’re doing multiple jobs or tasks simultaneously, can be potentially detrimental to our brain health.
‘While we think we are being productive, jumping between tasks stresses the brain,’ revealed Dr Amir Khan in a TikTok video which has been watched more than 33,700 times.
Speaking to his 67,000 followers, he ran down ‘five everyday habits that are quietly ageing your brain’.
He began: ‘Number one, constant multitasking.
‘We think we’re being productive, but jumping between tasks stresses the brain.
‘It can weaken short term memory and increase our cortisol levels.
‘Over time that can affect our grey matter, which is linked to focus and emotional control.’
It turns out that this is a common misconception, as when we focus on one singular task our brain uses both sides of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) in harmony.
It has long been believed that women are superior to men when it comes to juggling different tasks—a skill historically needed due to them being expected to run a home, raise children, feed their husband and work full time— but recent studies have hinted that men are also able to step up to the plate.
Last year, a survey of 2,000 Britons that found 60 per cent of men and women described themselves as a being a ‘decent multi-tasker’.
But this isn’t likely true, as a separate study found only 2.5 per cent of people were able to do two tasks at once without a drop in performance.
In the comment section of Dr Khan’s video, a social media user asked: ‘Isn’t there research on multitasking and using different parts of your brain being positive?’
The PFC is the part of the brain that processes planning, decision-making, working memory, and social behaviour.
But when we try to do another task at the same time, the left and right sides of our brain are forced to function independently from one another—and this can cause stress on the organ.
According to Dr Jennifer E. Davies, a neuropsychology expert at Brown University, ‘What our brains are doing when we multitask is rapidly switching between tasks.
Several studies have warned against the dangers of multitasking with different media screens (stock image)
While she highlighted that these affects can be temporary, she added: ‘Chronically increased blood pressure and stress can have permanent effects on the brain.’
‘This constant switching taxes our brain. It essentially tires it out and makes it less efficient.
‘This particularly affects our ability to focus our attention in general, even when we are not multitasking.’
Writing in a blog for Brown University Health, she warned: ‘Multitasking temporarily increases stress levels which raises blood pressure and heart rate.
‘Multitasking is also associated with symptoms of depression and anxiety.’
Researchers have also found trying to do multiple tasks at once leads to short-term memory problems.
Other studies have found it causes significant psychological distress and stress on the heart.
However, the professor at Brown University added: ‘The only time you can truly multitask is if one of the tasks is fully automated, like walking on the treadmill.’
Doom-scrolling, where you spend hours looking at your phone, was cited as bad for brain health (stock image)
So she reassured: ‘It’s okay to read a book and walk on the treadmill or fold laundry while watching television’.
Instead she warned against ‘bad multitasking’ that involves trying to simultaneously do two tasks that require your attention like ‘reading your email while attending a Zoom meeting’.
Experts have warmed of the dangers of ‘media multitasking’—such as texting while watching TV, or browsing the internet while listening to music.
Previously scientists found multi-tasking can shrink the part of the brain that processes emotion.
Those who used multiple media devices at the same time had less grey matter in the brain, which is responsible for controlling movement, memory and emotions.
Just last year a BT Network Wrapped study found that more than a third of Britons regularly split their attention between multiple screens.
Not surprisingly, it was young people known as Gen Z, i.e. those born between 1997 and 2012 that admitted to using second screens the most.
Dr Khan also warned of four other common habits which could be harmful.
He listed chronic sleep deprivation as his second most brain-ageing habit.
‘Every one bad night, impacts memory and attention. Long term lack of sleep, particularly deep sleep, limits the brain’s lymphatic system,’ he said.
‘That’s the brains waste disposal system, increasing plaque formation on the brain, which is linked to Alzheimer’s dementia.’
In third place was doom-scrolling, which just last month was linked to higher rates of teenage anxiety and depression.
Neuroscientists found that teens who spend more than two hours doom-scrolling had double the risk of developing anxiety and quadruple the chance of depression.
Dr Khan said: ‘Hours of passive scrolling over stimulate the brain, trigger the stress response and reduce dopamine sensitivity, affecting memory and mood, plus the blue light exposure before bed impairs melatonin release, affecting deep sleep.’
He also warned against ‘skipping meals, especially breakfast’.
The GP explained: ‘Glucose is the brain’s primary fuel. Intermittent fasting can be helpful in some cases, but skipping meals too often can reduce concentration and trigger brain fog, especially in people with busy lives or hormonal fluctuations.’
And lastly, he cited loneliness as a brain-killer.
‘Social interaction is protective,’ he said. ‘Studies show loneliness is as harmful to cognitive health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.
‘Socialising boosts cognitive reserve and reduces dementia risk even just chatting with a friend or neighbour.’
