Why do I sometimes forget to say something mere moments before I say it?
~ Labib, aged 12, Irvine, CA.
That’s an interesting question, Labib.Forgetting to do or to say things happens to all of us sometimes.
Have you ever walked into a room and realized you can’t remember what you were looking for? We tend to do this more when we are thinking of a few things at once or doing two things at the same time.
Have you ever crossed the road while chatting to a friend at the same time, or walked across a room while tapping away on a tablet or phone? That’s dual-tasking.
Your Brain is a Power Station
Think of your brain as a power station, providing electricity to a number of cities.If some cities cry out for a lot of energy (by having all their light switches on), other cities would have less power to work with. There’s only so much electricity to go around.
In the same way, your brain only has so much energy to share around at any one time. Younger kids have small brains and have less mental energy available than older kids. In the same way, a teenager’s brain is less mature than an adult brain.
Now, this brings us back to the question of forgetting things.
An older (and more experienced) brain means more mental energy to share between tasks.
Practice Makes Perfect
The more we practice our skills (like riding a bike, playing a sport, or baking a cake), the better we are at doing another task at the same time.For a very skilled sportsperson (like a footballer), juggling a football while having a chat with a friend would be easy.
Their football skills are so automatic that they don’t need much mental energy to do it, leaving more for other things.
So, why do I sometimes forget to say something before I say it?
The answer is you are likely to have been “dual-tasking” just before speaking.It might have been because you were thinking about the words you wanted to say and something else at the same time. Or maybe you were concentrating on listening while trying to think of what to say.
Sometimes, your brain just can’t do two complicated things at once. You might not have enough mental energy in that moment.
Forgetting things is normal for everyone and can happen when you are doing too many things at once.
When it happens to you, take a deep breath and relax!
Perhaps those words will come back to you later when you clear your head and re-energize.
Friends Read Free