Multitasking and Brain Health Exercises Through Music


 

 

The effects multitasking has on brain health has been an interesting debate for many years now. A handful of leading doctors profess that multitasking is not healthy, whilst others affirm that it is. Before I tell you my opinion, here are just a few pros and cons that I have heard arguments about.

The pros of multitasking:

  • Saves time and money
  • Increases mind power
  • Builds resilience
  • Stops procrastination
  • Increases productivity

The cons of multitasking:

  • This level of overstimulation of the brain can cause mental blocks and impair memory function, which in turn causes confusion
  • Human beings are not designed to concentrate on multiple things at the same time – it is something brought about by the modern world and is unhealthy

Now I can keep going through this list but, instead, I am going to give my perspective.

I think that if we can maintain our natural human balance whilst multitasking, that is something which can unlock potential and is exciting and healthy in many ways.

Further Analysis

Let me boil this down a bit further. When I was a child and learnt classical music on the piano, I was taught to practice my left hand and right hand separately. That way I was able to absorb and focus on the note-learning, technicality and the phrasing and flow of the overall music. As I became more and more confident, as well as being natural with my sense of timing and rhythm, I was then encouraged to practice with both of my hands. Following this method, I played with resilience and developed an ability to learn faster generally.

As I look back at this technique, I was definitely multitasking at a basic level. As I enjoy listening to debates on different subjects, I have begun developing brain health exercises through music and am trying to see if multitasking at its basic core is healthy.

Now I am not a doctor and I am not trying to lead anyone into agreeing with my perspective but I wonder if the real debate should be about “balance”.

Do we need to ensure that in multitasking we maintain the balance of not pushing it too far but at the same time not abandoning it altogether? Depending on our personality, I think we should calibrate the level of multitasking we engage in.

But how do we determine what that balance needs to be?

I am simply asking you to help me in this journey by trying a little multitasking with me. So, I urge you to try combining learning how to sing along with breathing exercises and let me know if this helps you in any way.