” Stop fidgeting and focus,” said every parent, but should we really stop it? Every time somebody assumes that you are not paying attention because you are fidgeting the opposite is probably true. Nowadays, with the high level of stress in our lifestyle, the necessity of finding ways to focus is more pressing than ever. Most of us mindlessly fidget with something while we ponder a project, listen to a lecture, study, or work through a problem.
CREDIT: www.saywhydoi.com
Why Do We Fidget And How Does It Help?
According to a study, “If something we are engaged with is not interesting enough to sustain our focus, the additional sensory-motor input that is mildly stimulating, interesting, or entertaining allows our brain to become fully engaged and allows us to sustain focus on the primary activity in which we are participating.” To put it in simpler words, we all have something called “floating attention” which means that whenever we are trying to pay attention to something usually a part of our brain is bored and starts to focus on other irrelevant things. The researchers believe that brain needs to focus on something else so that it can actually clears itself to take the information it really needs to focus on. Fidgeting distracts this part of our brain and helps us to focus on what we are reading, hearing, or seeing.
In a recent study researchers at Princeton University and the University of California, Los Angeles, found that mindless doodling can boost memory and increase concentration. Moreover, students who take lecture notes in long hand, rather than on a laptop, learn the lessons more deeply and give better answers to conceptual questions. Recently researchers at NewYork University (NYU) have begun studying the reason behind fidgeting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDwcDyQbQV0&feature=youtu.be
Credit: http://www.wsj.com
Fidgeting Tools
Fidget toys are something that you probably already use without even knowing. For the NYU study, researchers have asked people to post photos and videos of their fidgeting toys, with descriptions of their benefits (website). The researchers plan to classify the objects based on the sense they provide. We should consider that the huge difference that separates a fidget tool from other distractions is that it’s used for the enjoyment of itself, not to achieve any particular goal. For instance, playing an iPhone game or drawing a specific painting can’t be considered as fidgeting because these actions have a certain goal.
Most people are embarrassed from their habit of fidgeting and they found it to be often distractive for others. I was always looking for a good fidget gadget that can satisfy my needs and not distract my friends. Very recently Matthew and Mark McLachlan created a Fidget Cube with six different sides that each satisfy one fidgeting need. This amazing product will be available in the market next month and people can pre-order it for a price of 22$ from this website.
CREDIT: www.boredpanda.com
-Sahba Mozaffarian
