Many things can change for a person when they are texting. One of the more well-known things is their ability to focus on tasks. This is because texting can draw a person’s attention, both physical and mental, away from a task at hand.
A recent study indicates that when a person texts, not only might their external behavior be affected, they may experience some internal changes in the way their very brain acts. Specifically, the study indicates that texting may sometimes trigger a change in the rhythm of a person’s brain waves.
In the study, video EEG monitoring was conducted over the course of 16 months on over 100 patients who suffered from seizures. Researchers had the patients perform various tasks during the monitoring, including texting on a smartphone. Researchers reviewed the EEG monitoring to see if the patients’ brain wave activity changed at all during the various different tasks.
The study found that a rather unique change in brain wave rhythm happened while texting for about one in five texting patients.
This raises some interesting questions as to why this brain wave rhythm change sometimes occurs while texting and what overall impacts this change has.
The fact that texting could potentially impact things as fundamental as brain function is among the things that underscore why it is so important for individuals to avoid texting when engaged in tasks that could have major impacts on their own safety and the safety of others. This includes driving.
Major accidents and injuries can come about as a result of texting while driving. Experienced personal injury attorneys can help victims of texting drivers or other distracted drivers with navigating legal issues that come up during the course of pursuing fair compensation.
Source: Medical Daily, “Sending Text Messages On Your Smartphone Changes The Rhythm Of Your Brain Waves,” Lizette Borreli, June 27, 2016