Ever wonder why you doodle while in class or in a meeting? Scientists have learned that it helps you remember what you’re hearing even though?to everyone else?it may look like you’re daydreaming. It turns out that doodlers perform 29% better on memory tests than non-doodlers.
BBC News quotes researcher Jackie Andrade as saying, “If someone is doing a boring task, like listening to a dull telephone conversation, they may start to daydream. Daydreaming distracts them from the task, resulting in poor performance. A simple task, like doodling, may be sufficient to stop daydreaming without affecting performance on the main task.”
Researcher Alan Badeley agrees. BBC quotes him as saying, “?Doodling is not that taxing and keeps you more alert so you are more likely to absorb what is being said.”
Art credit: freeimages.co.uk
It’s sometimes hard to pay attention to what you’re hearing when you?re sitting at your computer doing other things at the same time?it’s much easier when you?re in an easy chair with a cup of tea or coffee or, better yet, bored and stuck in a traffic jam (where you CAN’T DOODLE!) If you want to be able to listen to our great radio shows away from your computer, remember this: Subscribers can listen?and re-listen?to an entire year of Dreamland shows, as well as download them to an MP3 disc so you can listen in your car and in other places away from your computer. You get all this for less than $4 per month. So what are you waiting for? Subscribe today!
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