The media is buzzing with conversation about the brain. Our brains evolve continuously, and our neural networks continue to develop our entire lives. Neuroplasticity is exciting stuff. We can actually remap entire sections of our brain to take on new functions. This is fundamental to recovery from stroke or brain damage, something that I find almost miraculous.

There is a corollary: If we can remap our brains, and our neural networks develop and change all life long, then it follows that our environment and actions rewire our brains. That is a good thing, because if rewiring didn’t happen, you wouldn’t be able to remember your cell phone number, your user name for twitter or how to drive your new car.

The Good and the Bad

According to Dr. Teena Moody, of UCLA’s Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, there is evidence our brains wire differently depending upon environmental influences and our behavioral choices. (Hotchkiss, 2009) Now, researchers are finding that the way we engage with the internet changes how we think.

Studies show that the brains of Internet users become more efficient at finding information. Some video games improve reflexes and visual acuity. (Richtel, 2010) The internet allows people to work anywhere and meet with people around the world in an instant – distance is increasingly irrelevant. Endeavors like Wikipedia prove the power of the internet to multiply individual efforts into incredible results.

With busy lives, and plentiful information channels available, internet users tend to multi-task. Heavy multi-taskers, even though they might feel more productive, actually have more trouble focusing and shutting out irrelevant information. They also experience more stress. Even after they stop multi-tasking, they continue to experience fractured thinking and lack of focus. (Richtel, 2010)

Multi-tasking is addictive – and it’s fun!

The deluge of input we experience daily stimulates our primitive impulses to respond to immediate opportunities and threats. This triggers excitement, in the form of dopamine. We like the way that feels, and when it isn’t there, we feel bored. (Richtel, 2010)

• Are you multi-tasking right now? It is such a part of our digital lives that you may not even realize it.
• Is your email program open? Have you received any emails since you opened this article?
• Do you have any chat windows open?
• Do you have any social networking sites open? (e.g., twitter or Facebook)
• Do you have any media aggregator sites open? (e.g., Diggit or Mashable)
• Are you on the phone?
• Did you interrupt a task to read this article?
• Is your television or radio on?

Personally, I love playing on the information highway. Terabytes of information wait at my beck and call. Google is the first website I go to every day, and it comes up with a personalized page full of news, the weather, comics, and a preview of my inbox. Twitter is next – because the people I follow point me to really interesting information and discussion. This article grew out of seeds I found in “tweets” – messages from people I follow on Twitter. When I am at my desk, I rarely have fewer than 3 applications open on my computer.

Take Control of your Neural Connections

It is becoming apparent that all this digital connection is hazardous. But I’m not going to disconnect. The internet allows me to engage in great conversations every day, to learn to my heart’s content, and to share my thoughts with anyone who is interested. I find my digital life very fulfilling.

The fact is, no matter what we do, our brains are being rewired by our environment and actions. We aren’t helpless in this process. We can choose activities that rewire the brain for deep thought and focus, without quitting multi-tasking and the internet. It is a matter of exercising the brain. Here are four ideas to start with:

1. Read a good book. It doesn’t have to be literary or “good for you.” Read a thriller or a romance, something you can get wrapped up in.
2. Choose a time to focus on work each day, and turn off all incoming traffic. That means no email, phone, radio, television, or other sources of interruption.
3. Exercise – Run, bike, walk, swim. Anything that takes you away from the digital highway. I particularly like yoga for this, because yoga is about maintaining focus on your body.
4. Work on a puzzle – jigsaw, Sudoku, crossword – anything that challenges your brain.

Awareness is the first step to cognitive fitness. What have you done lately to fight off the effects of digital living? What are you going to do now? Please share your ideas in the blog comments – let’s get cognitively fit together.

I recommend the following articles if you’d like to learn more:

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/129/rewiring-the-creative-mind.html
Neuroscience Sheds New Light on Creativity
Gregory Berns; October 1, 2008 Fast Company

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2008/07/is-google-making-us-stupid/6868/
Is Google Making Us Stupid?
Nicholas Carr; July/August 2008 Atlantic Magazine

http://searchengineland.com/dr-teena-moody-chatting-about-our-brains-on-google-16728
Is Google Rewiring Our Brains?
Gord Hotchkiss; Mar 6, 2009

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/07/technology/07brain.html
Hooked on Gadgets, and Paying a Mental Price
Matt Richtel; June 6, 2010 New York Times

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704025304575284973472694334.html
Does the Internet Make You Smarter?
Clay Shirkey; June 4, 2010 Wall Street Journal