When you find your mind drifting away while doing mundane tasks, you can take a pride in your brain functions.

A recent study shows that people with higher working memory tend to let their minds wander while doing routine jobs. It also allows working memory to exercise, Livescience.com reported Friday.

Working memory allows the brain to process several thoughts at once, allocating resources to the imminent problems, according to the study by the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Science.

Researchers conducted an experiment where a group of people were asked to perform very simple tasks such as pressing a button with each breath they take, providing an environment where their minds were likely to drift off.

Researchers found out that participants let their mind wander more tend score higher on working memory tests.

When the task at hand is comparatively easy, people with higher working memory use extra resources to think about other things, according to study researcher Jonathan Smallwood.

This may indicate that people who have tendency to daydream while doing simple tasks have a high level of working memory.

When the task required a high level of focus, however, the people with high working memory were able to stay focused while those with low working memory let their mind wander.



By Yoon Min-sik
(minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)