Why Are We So Good at Forgetting?
by Kayle Sandberg-Lewis, LMT, MA, BCN-Fellow
We have all done it: While working on a project in one room, we realize we need something from another room. Arriving in the other room seconds later, we wonder what the heck we are there for. Why does this phenomenon occur?
The brain’s desire for efficiency seems to hold the explanation. In a study done several years ago, subjects were given information and asked to walk across an open expanse. At the other end, subjects were able to retrieve most of the information, but when the researchers introduced doorways for the subjects to pass through, the information was much less likely to be retrieved at the end of the same distance.
The researchers in that study dubbed doorways “event barriers” and hypothesized that the brain saw the doorway as a signal to drop information held in our working memory. Working memory is somewhat equivalent to our “to-do” lists - things we need to remember in the short term.
Subsequent research found that one does not need to walk anywhere to dump working memory information. The researchers had subjects use computer models to simulate walking through doors and the same effect occurred, although those researchers called it the “doorway effect”.
But it gets even more interesting: Follow-up researchers, who called the forgetting phenomenon the “location updating effect”, found that simply IMAGINING doorways had the same effect.
While the shedding of our mental to-do list seems to be driven by our brains’ desire for efficiency, most of us do not simply shrug it off when it happens. Responses run the spectrum from frustration to self-berating to fear - fear that one is sliding into dementia. The irony is these negative responses can raise stress hormones that can have a negative effect on our brains and well being.
Does this mean we are doomed to frequently stand in the middle of a room wondering what our motivation for being there is?
Not necessarily. Mindfulness & humor strengthen the brain. Rather than reflexively rising from the desk when realizing the scissors you need are probably in the kitchen, pause and say, “I am going to the kitchen to get the scissors”. Get up and as you walk to the kitchen, repeat to yourself the purpose of your expedition to the kitchen, especially when passing through doorways.
If you occasionally forget to remind yourself in this way and you come up blank on arriving at your destination, use humor to address the situation. Thank your brain for being such an efficient location updating device. Compliment your brain, “GPS has nothing on you, brain.”
Kayle Sandberg-Lewis holds a M.A. in Behavioral Medicine, the study of how what we do affects our well-being. She has over three decades experience in stress management and is board certified in neurofeedback, which she introduced to her practice in 1996. Kayle co-founded Hive Mind Medicine in 2019, where she currently offers neurofeedback to her clients.
Hive Mind Medicine blog posts are for educational purposes only and are not intended as medical advice. Please consult with your health care practitioner for personalized guidance. Click on the contact button below if you would like to schedule with one of our Hive Mind practitioners.