The impact of instant stimuli on our habits and attention
Do you find yourself sitting down to study, work, or read a book, and within a minute, you're checking your phone or losing focus? It's as if our brains really can't retain information for a whole hour without needing to do something else.
The reality is that it probably isn't just about your discipline but also the training you've provided to your brain. We are constantly adapting to our environment, and lately, we are mostly surrounded by instant stimuli: notifications, fast food, short videos, easily accessible information, etc. We have never had so much information in such a short period of time.
All these factors impact our heads in many ways. Initially, they affect our neuroplasticity, which measures the brain's capacity to adapt to what we repeat. Depending on the habits I provide continuously to my body, it will react to the stimuli around me.
The famous dopamine (the neurotransmitter that regulates motivation and pleasure) is also involved; it becomes accustomed to the enjoyment we experience, such as the brief and high peaks from using our phones and constantly switching from app to app.
The prefrontal cortex is responsible for controlling attention, decision-making, and impulse inhibition, while the anterior cingulate cortex involves error management and sustained attention; furthermore, we have many other regulators.
Progressively, as a society, we have become accustomed to receiving quick and entertaining information, which is hard for us to let go of for a while. I doubt I'm the only one who grabs my phone as soon as I get bored with studying or when I feel frustrated, angry, or sad. In some way, we need to cover up the feeling and channel it with a spike of dopamine.
Another very common example is artificial intelligence, which, despite providing numerous benefits (solving doubts, reducing mental work, organization), reduces our cognitive effort because “it thinks, researches, and resolves for us.” This impacts us psychologically and socially in a negative way.
Constant overstimulation to avoid the feelings mentioned causes an increase in what is called baseline stress. This is how it becomes increasingly difficult for us to pay attention in class, maintain a prolonged conversation, or even practice a long-term habit.
And this way, the feeling of guilt and frustration is generated, for not being able to meet expectations, feeling useless, or experiencing headaches after long screen exposure.
Technology nowadays is a double-edged sword that can either accompany us or wear us down. The solution may not be to see this as something to eliminate, but rather to regulate.
Retraining our brain to tolerate silence, waiting, and emotional discomfort is a current challenge. It's not about eliminating stimuli, but about regaining control over them to reduce anxiety and disconnection.
Turning off the phone, cooking without music, staying silent, feeling frustration and boredom, are trainings for the mind that allow us to regain control and avoid compulsive behaviors that interfere with our plans. You are not irresponsible; your brain adapts to the modern context around us, and that makes it much more difficult to stay focused.
Concentration is also trained; the more we take care of it, the more present we will be in our lives, and that is true productivity.
By Camila di Brino, student of the Bachelor's Degree in Biotechnology at UADE
Comments