Researchers review past studies, say 'mind blanking' is distinct with unique brain activity
Mind blanking
is a distinct state of mind, with unique neural and
cognitive properties
, according to a research article. Often experienced after performing tasks requiring sustained focus, mind blanking can include lapses in attention and memory and sometimes, a temporary absence of inner speech.
Writing in the article, published in the journal
Trends in Cognitive Sciences
, the authors explained that when we are awake, our thoughts shift through varied contents.
"However, there are moments that are seemingly devoid of reportable content, referred to as mind blanking," they wrote.
Author Athena Demertzi, a neuroscientist at the
University of Liege
, Belgium, said, "We sought to better understand mind blanking by parsing through 80 relevant research articles -- including some of our own in which we recorded participants' brain activity when they were reporting that they were 'thinking of nothing'."
The team found that how commonly one experiences mind blanking ranges between 5-20 per cent of the time on average.
Children with attention disorders (such as
ADHD
) were found to report "thinking about nothing" more often, compared to neurotypical people.
Further, the authors noted a lowered heart rate and pupil size among people experiencing a mind blank after having engaged in tasks needing sustained attention.
The participants also showed brain activity that was relatively less complex -- a state of mind which the researchers said is usually observed in unconscious people.
The authors also suggested that mind blanking could be "
local sleep episodes
", as a person's ability to process sensory information -- such as touch and temperature -- is disrupted, with slow, sleep-waves seen in their brain.
The researchers said that mind blanking has been previously studied as part of research and experiments designed to study
mind wandering
-- a state of mind where thoughts "occur seamlessly", and "resemble a stream continuously flowing".
However, the team argued that mind blanking is a distinct experience -- it involves feeling sleepier, more sluggish, and making more errors -- and should be looked at independently.
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