- New research finds you’re more likely to zone out when you’re tired.
- Scientists tracked exactly what happens in the brain during these attention lapses.
- The finding suggest this is a way for the brain to recharge and reset.
It can be jarring when you suddenly find yourself staring into space when you were supposed to be doing something. But zoning out happens to everybody, even though the exact reason why has been a mystery.
Now, new research breaks down exactly what’s happening in your brain when you zone out—and it’s fascinating. For the study, which was published in Nature Neuroscience, researchers recruited 26 participants and studied their brains with various scans after they had a restful night of sleep and a night were they were sleep deprived.
Unsurprisingly, the researchers found that the people who were sleep deprived did significantly worse on tasks that required focus compared to those who were better rested.
But here’s where things get really interesting: The researchers found that some participants didn’t have brainwave changes in responses some stimuli, which suggests they had brief lapses in attention. When that happened, the researchers found that there was an increase of cerebrospinal fluid (a clear fluid that surrounds and cushions the brain) out of the brain.
The result suggests that when you zone out, cerebrospinal fluid is being pulled away from your brain. But when you snap back to attention, that fluid comes back in. The researchers also found that your pupils narrow and neurons in your brain shift when you zone out, too.
These brain-body changes are “tightly orchestrated” when you zone out to create that feeling that you’re just not there, the researchers found, noting that it’s essentially like your body is trying to put itself to sleep to reset so you can continue to power through your day.
Meet the experts: Clifford Segil, D.O., is a neurologist at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, CA; W. Christopher Winter, M.D., is a neurologist and sleep medicine physician with Charlottesville Neurology and Sleep Medicine and host of the Sleep Unplugged podcast; Alex Dimitriu, M.D., is a psychiatrist and sleep medicine physician, and founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine.
But why does your body do this, and what does it mean if you tend to zone out a lot? Neurologists explain.
Why does your brain zone out sometimes?
That’s still being explored. “‘Zoning out’ might be another term for ‘microsleep’—short periods of reduced consciousness and frank sleep in which the sleep period is so brief as to escape an individual’s awareness,” says W. Christopher Winter, M.D., a neurologist and sleep medicine physician with Charlottesville Neurology and Sleep Medicine and host of the Sleep Unplugged podcast.
But things get a little more complicated from there. “We still don’t know why we sleep and, if you ask two different neurologists, you will often get two different answers,” says Clifford Segil, D.O., a neurologist at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, CA.
Based on these findings, zoning out may be required for your brain to be healthy, Dr. Segil says. It could also help the neurons in your brain to rest and maybe even help the neurotransmitters involved in complex circuits in your brain to keep you awake, focused, and active, he says.
It could also be your brain trying to play catch-up from a bad night’s sleep, says Alex Dimitriu, M.D., a psychiatrist and sleep medicine physician, and founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine. When you’re in a deep sleep at night, your brain’s glymphatic system “washes out” leftover byproducts from a day of activity, he explains. “When people get insufficient sleep at night, it is possible that episodes of zoning out during the day may be the brain trying to catch up on processes that were not finished during the night,” he says.
What does it mean if you zone out a lot?
Again, scientists don’t know anything for sure, but there are a few theories. One is that you probably could use more sleep, Dr. Winter says. But that’s likely not the only thing going on here.
Zoning out “may indicate your need more food or nutrition,” Dr. Segil says. “Sleep and nutrition are both equally important to maintain a good focus,” he adds. This could also be a way of consolidating memories, being sleepy, or feeling overwhelmed by the things surrounding you, Dr. Segil says.
On a more serious note, zoning out can also be a sign of brief seizures and complicated migraines, Dr. Winter says.
Is zoning out bad for you?
It’s not ideal to keep zoning out when you’re trying to tackle a complicated work issue or problem-solve. Zoning out is also concerning when you’re doing things like driving or other potentially hazardous activities, Dr. Winter points out.
But Dr. Segil says these little lapses in attention generally aren’t harmful. “Zoning out in isolation may be healthy and is unlikely in isolation to herald any new medical diagnosis,” he says.
But zoning out can be a sign of an underlying health condition. It can be a sign of dementia in older adults, and may signal thyroid disease when it’s paired with weight gain or loss, Dr. Segil says. “Zoning out all of a sudden with new onset thirst and increased urinary frequency cause concern for a new metabolic disorder like diabetes,” he adds. Zoning out regularly can also be a sign of ADHD, Dr. Dimitriu points out.
But if you zone out here and there, Dr. Segil says there’s no need to worry. In fact, you may be doing this more than you realize. “In my experience, this is often happening much more often that you are aware of,” Dr. Winter says.
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