If youve ever had your mind blank out while in the middle of something, youre far from alone.
In research published this week, scientists are making the case that mind blanking is a genuine brain phenomenon.
But interest in it has also been steadily gathering steam among researchers studying cognition and sleep in recent years.
Mind blanking might be a universal experience, but some people are more prone to it, a new review suggests.© Cans Creative via Shutterstock
And they came to a simple conclusion.
Mind blanking is real, its not just a matter of forgetting or a failure to report.
In our review, we show that mind blanking is not merely a subjective impression or an illusion.
According to the researchers, mind blanking is linked to its own unique patterns of brain activity.
Could some instances be voluntary?
Might mind blanking occur during high-performance states, such as flow?
A deeper understanding of its neural mechanisms is also needed.
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