"
data-check-event-based-preview=""
data-is-vertical-video-embed="false"
data-network-id=""
data-publish-date="2018-10-01T07:53:41Z"
data-video-section="health"
data-canonical-url="https://www.cnn.com/videos/health/2018/09/26/living-to-100-dr-sanjay-gupta-orig-intermittent-fasting.cnn"
data-branding-key="life-but-better-diet"
data-video-slug="living to 100 dr sanjay gupta orig intermittent fasting"
data-first-publish-slug="living to 100 dr sanjay gupta orig intermittent fasting"
data-video-tags="misc people,sanjay gupta,aging and health,health and health care (by demographic group),health and medical"
data-details="">
"
data-check-event-based-preview=""
data-is-vertical-video-embed="false"
data-network-id=""
data-publish-date="2015-06-24T13:16:59Z"
data-video-section="health"
data-canonical-url="https://www.cnn.com/videos/health/2015/06/22/gupta-music-and-memory.cnn"
data-branding-key="ill-be-me"
data-video-slug="Gupta Music and Memory"
data-first-publish-slug="Gupta Music and Memory"
data-video-tags="arts and entertainment,business and industry sectors,dementia,diseases and disorders,health and medical,health care,health care facilities,long term health care,mental illnesses,music,nursing and residential care facilities,nursing homes,sanjay gupta,brain,medical fields and specialties"
data-details="">
"
data-check-event-based-preview=""
data-is-vertical-video-embed="false"
data-network-id=""
data-publish-date="2018-06-18T13:16:35Z"
data-video-section="health"
data-canonical-url="https://www.cnn.com/videos/health/2018/06/18/sanjay-gupta-gaming-addiction-disorder-newday.cnn"
data-branding-key=""
data-video-slug="sanjay gupta gaming addiction disorder newday"
data-first-publish-slug="sanjay gupta gaming addiction disorder newday"
data-video-tags="business and industry sectors,business, economy and trade,computer science and information technology,diseases and disorders,health and medical,mental health,mental illnesses,public health,sanjay gupta,software and applications,technology,video games,world health organization"
data-details="">
"
data-check-event-based-preview=""
data-is-vertical-video-embed="false"
data-network-id=""
data-publish-date="2014-09-12T23:29:12Z"
data-video-section="health"
data-canonical-url="https://www.cnn.com/videos/health/2014/08/01/cnn-orig-living-to-100-dr-sanjay-gupta-digital-detox.cnn"
data-branding-key="life-but-better-sleep"
data-video-slug="cnn orig living to 100 dr sanjay gupta digital detox"
data-first-publish-slug="cnn orig living to 100 dr sanjay gupta digital detox"
data-video-tags="behavior and cognition,consumer electronics,consumer products,electronics,health and medical,mobile and cellular telephones,mobile technology,sanjay gupta,science,sleep,smartphones,technology,misc people"
data-details="">
"
data-check-event-based-preview=""
data-is-vertical-video-embed="false"
data-network-id=""
data-publish-date="2018-08-21T14:19:05Z"
data-video-section="health"
data-canonical-url="https://www.cnn.com/videos/health/2018/08/21/sanjay-gupta-coal-power-plant-regulations-epa-rollbacks-nr-vpx.cnn"
data-branding-key=""
data-video-slug="sanjay gupta coal power plant regulations epa rollbacks nr vpx"
data-first-publish-slug="sanjay gupta coal power plant regulations epa rollbacks nr vpx"
data-video-tags="business and industry sectors,business, economy and trade,donald trump,electric power industry,energy and utilities,energy and utility law,environment and natural resources,environmental regulation and policy,government and public administration,government bodies and offices,health and medical,law and legal system,misc people,political figures - us,pollution,public health,sanjay gupta,us federal government,utilities industry,white house"
data-details="">
"
data-check-event-based-preview=""
data-is-vertical-video-embed="false"
data-network-id=""
data-publish-date="2018-07-21T16:23:16Z"
data-video-section="health"
data-canonical-url="https://www.cnn.com/videos/health/2018/07/21/coal-ash-ponds-epa-sanjay-gupta-pkg-vpx.cnn"
data-branding-key="sanjay-gupta"
data-video-slug="coal ash ponds epa sanjay gupta pkg vpx"
data-first-publish-slug="coal ash ponds epa sanjay gupta pkg vpx"
data-video-tags="andrew wheeler,environment and natural resources,environmental protection agency,environmental regulation and policy,government and public administration,government organizations - us,legislation,misc people,political figures - us,politics,sanjay gupta,us federal departments and agencies,us government independent agencies,business and industry sectors,business, economy and trade,chemical industry and chemicals,chemicals and environment,environmental law,hazardous materials waste,hazardous waste disposal,law and legal system,toxic and hazardous substances,waste management and remediation services"
data-details="">
"
data-check-event-based-preview=""
data-is-vertical-video-embed="false"
data-network-id=""
data-publish-date="2014-09-17T20:47:07Z"
data-video-section="health"
data-canonical-url="https://www.cnn.com/videos/health/2014/08/01/cnn-orig-living-to-100-dr-sanjay-gupta-laughter.cnn"
data-branding-key="life-but-better-mindfulness"
data-video-slug="cnn orig living to 100 dr sanjay gupta laughter"
data-first-publish-slug="cnn orig living to 100 dr sanjay gupta laughter"
data-video-tags="misc people,sanjay gupta"
data-details="">
"
data-check-event-based-preview=""
data-is-vertical-video-embed="false"
data-network-id=""
data-publish-date="2014-03-11T01:13:58Z"
data-video-section="health"
data-canonical-url="https://www.cnn.com/videos/health/2014/03/10/orig-brain-on-weed-sanjay-jr-jt.cnn"
data-branding-key=""
data-video-slug="orig brain on weed sanjay jr jt"
data-first-publish-slug="orig brain on weed sanjay jr jt"
data-video-tags="brain science,controlled substances,drugs and society,health and medical,marijuana,sanjay gupta,medical fields and specialties,society"
data-details="">
"
data-check-event-based-preview=""
data-is-vertical-video-embed="false"
data-network-id=""
data-publish-date="2015-01-02T23:14:35Z"
data-video-section="health"
data-canonical-url="https://www.cnn.com/videos/health/2015/01/02/how-to-break-bad-habits-and-form-new-ones-nws-orig.cnn"
data-branding-key=""
data-video-slug="how to break bad habits and form new ones nws orig"
data-first-publish-slug="how to break bad habits and form new ones nws orig"
data-video-tags="brain,health and medical,sanjay gupta"
data-details="">
In fact quality of output drops during multitasking
Only about 2% of us are genetically gifted to be better at it
CNN
—
Our brains on multitasking aren’t nearly as good as we think they are. Let’s say you’re working on an activity over here, on the right side of the brain, and suddenly you’re trying to multitask another activity, like talking on the phone.
You’re not actually doing both activities at the same time, in fact, you’re now diverting your attention from one part of your brain to another part of your brain. That takes time, that takes resources, that takes brain cells.
What happens on the other side of the brain is that you’re starting a brand new activity, so in fact you’re probably slower and not nearly as good at doing both activities at the same time.
We can shift our focus really fast, sometimes it takes just a 10th of a second. But the time doesn’t matter as much as the bandwidth the brain requires to move back and forth. Now that might affect your performance, and might also affect the quality of the work that you finally produce.
Take an everyday activity like driving. When you look at the MRI of someone who is in driving mode, see how much of their brain is activating there? Now if you just layer in one more thing—if person is listening while they are driving—and all of a sudden the amount of attention, the amount of brain bandwidth going toward driving decreases by about 37%. So you’re not multi-tasking, you’ve in fact reduced the amount of attention you’re now paying to your driving.
There’s about 2% of the population that are super multitaskers. It’s sort of a genetic gift. Most of us don’t have this gift. But these are people who are truly able to do several different activities at the same time without losing efficiency or losing quality as they do all that work.
This may or may not surprise you, depending on your perspective, but there have been studies that show women are generally better at multitasking than men. Also, people who thought they were the best at multitasking are almost always in fact the worst. Perhaps they were multitasking too much when they thought they were good at multitasking.
