The Distracted Brain

Chasing Life

CNN

Nutrition, Health & Fitness, Mental Health

4.5 • 8K Ratings

🗓️ 12 September 2023

⏱️ 34 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

If you have trouble focusing on books, work, or even TV shows, you’re not alone. The fact is our attention spans are getting shorter. And it can feel like our ability to perform and be productive is harder. But is a shorter attention span actually impacting our brain function and overall health? Does it really help to block distractions like social media? In our first episode of an all new season, Sanjay speaks to Gloria Mark, a professor of informatics at the University of California, Irvine, and author of “Attention Span: A Groundbreaking Way to Restore Balance, Happiness and Productivity.” She’ll tell us what’s actually going on in the brain when we’re attentive and why we’re less focused than we used to be. Professor Mark will also share tips for sharpening our attention spans that go beyond “just put down your phone.” To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	I have absolutely zero attention span, and I am constantly distracted.
0:11.0	You know, the reason I go to a movie theater is because that is a place I have focused.
0:15.7	You know, I'm not on my phone, I'm not doing anything else.
0:18.7	I'm watching to see what's happening.
0:22.6	This is David Pollunchock.
0:24.3	He was one of the millions who flocked to the movies this summer.
0:27.6	He wanted to enjoy himself, but he also wanted some alone time to focus.
0:32.1	Hey Barbie.
0:35.1	Can I come to your house today?
0:36.7	Sure.
0:37.7	Barbie, a production of CNN's parent company Warner Bros Discovery, is being credited with
0:43.1	helping get people back to the movie theaters and numbers that frankly hadn't been seen
0:47.4	since before the pandemic.
0:49.2	So cool.
0:53.2	And because of that, Pollunchock worried that people's theater etiquette might be a little
0:57.7	rusty.
0:58.7	You know, the little distractions, the occasional side conversation, quick phone light.
1:04.0	After all, that kind of stuff happened before the pandemic.
1:07.8	But the behavior he saw left him a little flabbergasted.
1:13.3	Maybe four or five rows up from us, somebody who clearly was getting a lot of tweets or text
1:19.8	message something, some communication.
1:22.2	So it was on their phone a great deal.
	...

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