What Is Brain Popcorn? Causes, Impacts, And How To Overcome It

YOGYAKARTA - Popcorn brain is a term that is used to describe the state of the mind when our attention is easily distracted by various content on social media. When it takes too long in front of the screen, the brain continues to 'jump' from one stimulus to another like a loose popcorn seed.

You may be reading, suddenly open social media and distracted by random videos that appear. As a result, focus becomes split, and we feel mentally overwhelmed. The following will be discussed what popcorn brain is, social media influences, and strategies to restore focus and clarity of thought will discuss.

The term popcorn brain was first introduced by David Levy in his book Mindful Tech. Popcorn brain describes the conditions in which our minds continue to move, have difficulty being silent, and are easily neglected by digital stimulation that comes repeatedly.

Reporting from Business Insider, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, Arwini Nadkarni, MD, explained that digital media encourages fragmented attention, making it difficult for the brain to maintain focus on one thing for a long time.

The rapid content selection from social media makes us accustomed to instant stimulation. Scrolling short videos trains the brain to find a fast stimulus so that the range of attention becomes shorter. As a result, we long for things that are fast, and it is difficult to survive in activities that require focus.

The use of devices such as cell phones and laptops also encourages multitasking. For example, a person can try to write an email while switching between online shopping and reading news notifications. This multitasking is actually making the brain work harder, so the ability to focus weakens over time.

Social media is designed to present fast and concise content flows that require continued attention. Neuropsychologist Sanam Hafeez explained that the revolving habit makes the brain accustomed to instant entertainment. This causes a person to feel restless if they don't get new stimulation.

"This causes a shorter range of attention, making it more difficult to focus on anything for more than a few minutes," he said, quoted by Business Insider.

Because they are used to waiting for rapid stimulation, the brain becomes very alert and difficult to relax. This excessive stimulation can cause mental fatigue and reduce deep thinking skills. In the long term, this affects the brain's capacity to be creative and productive.

When popcorn brain gets worse, someone has difficulty completing tasks that require high concentration. They may often move from one application to another, even though their main job is not finished. This causes productivity to decrease and frustration to increase.

In addition, the mind that keeps jumping makes the body feel tired even though it does not do strenuous physical activity. This mental fatigue can affect mood, creativity, and decision-making skills. In the long term, excess distraction degrades the quality of social relations and rest time.

Spincorn brain also makes it difficult for a person to enjoy simple activities without the desire to always open a device. Even when relaxing, the brain is still looking for digital stimulation. This leads to a lifestyle that is less focused and keeps us away from real experiences.

How To Overcome Brain Popcorn

The good news is that popcorn brain can be overcome by training the brain to refocus. The first way is to practice mindfulness. When we realize that attention is chaotic, we can take steps to calm the mind.

One of the effective mindfulness techniques is body scan. In this exercise, you sit in a quiet place, close your eyes, and realize the body's sensation from head to toe. Exercises such as yoga and breathing also help strengthen the focus muscles.

Writing a list of tasks can also help outline messy thoughts. Pomodoro's technique, which is to work 25 minutes and rest 5 minutes, is shown to keep focus stable without feeling heavy. This method produces rhythms that help the brain stay on one task in a certain range of time.

Finally, limiting the use of gadgets is very important to restore focus. You can turn off notifications, close unnecessary tabs, or limit the use of social media only at certain hours. Using one device at a time is also shown to help the brain work more efficiently.

Thus, the discussion about what popcorn is a brain and how to overcome it, follow other interesting articles on VOI.ID. So that we don't miss the news of the updated follow and monitor our social media accounts!