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Being Busy Is Probably Good For Your Brain

Trending News: Here's Why Being Super Busy May Actually Be Better For You

Why Is This Important?

Because you should stop your complaining because being super busy may be good for your brain.

Long Story Short

If you have a never-ending to do list, you might be better off according to a new study that found busier people performed better in cognitive functions like memory, reasoning and mental quickness. The research also found that down the line as you get older, the busier you are might make you less likely to get dementia.  

Long Story

Wake up at dawn to workout. Grab a coffee and a bite. Head off to work where you realize there's a million things to do before your next meeting. Squeeze in lunch. Commute home, make dinner, take the kids to soccer, squeeze in a show on Netflix, then crash. Tomorrow it'll all happen again — but if you feel like complaining about your hectic life, fine, but know that all that busyness could actually be good exercise for your brain.

A new study in the journal Frontiers tested 330 people between the ages of 50 and 89 on cognitive functions including memory, reasoning and mental quickness, according to NPR. The researchers also had the participants fill out questionnaires and what they found was that those who had less time on their hands had sharper minds.

The contrast between the super busy and the less busy was even wider among older participants — potentially backing up previous research the suggested keeping busy and exercising when you get older can ward off dementia.

"We were somewhat surprised, I have to be honest," said Denise Park, a University of Texas advisor on the study, to NPR

But this doesn't mean you should go on a rampage signing up for new activities and packing more 'to dos' into your day. The study was pretty small and it didn't look into potential negative effects of busyness, such as stress and negative effects on your heart or metabolism. 

"Maybe those people are experiencing some negative effects from a lifetime of busyness. We haven't looked at that," said Park.

It's also possible that people who are naturally better cognitively are more likely to do more, and dementia may be the cause of people slowing down rather than being a result of being less busy.

Still, it makes sense that while you're trying to remember your client's name while simultaneously remembering to buy the milk before you get home, you're working out your brain to make it stronger.   

Own The Conversation

Ask The Big Question

Being busy might be good for your brain, but how does it affect your heart?

Disrupt Your Feed

Sleep when you're dead. 

Drop This Fact

We're not actually busier than ever. Americans nowadays work less than we did in the 1960s and 1980s, according to The Atlantic

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