By Georgia FreeTuesday 23 Apr 2024Hope Book ClubBooksReading Time: 3 minutes
Rest assured, you’re not the only one asking, Why am I like this?
Key points
- Dr. Jen Martin answers some of our commonly asked ‘why am I like this?’ questions in her new book.
- Listen to the full conversation in the listener above, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- Don’t forget to join the Hope Book Club Facebook Community.
In a recent conversation with Hope Book Club’s Georgia Free, author Dr. Jen Martin answered some of the questions we’re all asking about ourselves – and in the meantime, helps us understand that we are actually great, just the way we are.
As the author of ‘Why Am I Like This? The Science Behind Your Weirdest Thoughts and Habits’, Dr. Jen shares fascinating insights into the quirks of human behaviors, answering questions like Why do I forget why I walked into a room? and Why do I stick my tongue out when I’m concentrating?
As a scientist herself, Georgia had a great time, discussing the science behind this everyday phenomena, to help all of us gain a deeper understanding of ourselves.
Why we forget why we walked into a room
“One of the reasons that I’m excited about the book is because it can put people’s minds at ease,” Dr. Jen said.
“You are normal, this is not just you having a poor memory, this is entirely normal.
“Our brains are always very full, our memories are full… and so one of the ways that our brain kind of manages… is to divide our memories into separate kind of events or episodes.
“The idea is that when we find ourselves in a new situation, at a basic level, our brain can go, Oh, that information is not so relevant anymore. I don’t need to have that available for immediate recall. I’m in a new situation, so I need to be able to take in new information.”
Dr. Jen Martin answers some of our commonly asked ‘why am I like this?’ questions in her new book.
Dr. Jen goes on to explain that research has shown that when we walk through a doorway, our brains take it as a signal to forget what we were doing before.
“You’ve now entered a new event, and you need to be ready to learn new things and remember new things,” she said.
“Even asking someone to imagine that they’ve walked through a door, even if they don’t actually walk through a door, it makes it more difficult for them to remember what they were doing just before.”
Why we stick out our tongues when concentrating
It’s something most of us do, particularly as children. Sticking out our tongues seems to be the universal sign of concentration, irrespective of how embarrassed we might be when we realise we’re doing it.
So, why do we do it?
“There’s a couple of different theories,” Dr. Jen said.
“The one that really kind of sticks out to me is this; I want you to concentrate on your tongue.
“Right now, it’s giving you a lot of information.
“One of the reasons that I’m excited about the book is because it can put people’s minds at ease,” Dr. Jen said.
“Your brain is constantly giving you an updated map of the inside of your mouth, and it turns out that that information is quite a lot for your brain to take in.
“So, the idea is that when we’re doing something that requires a lot of concentration or a lot of dexterity, we need to minimize the amount of input that is coming in so we can really concentrate.
“The idea is that by sticking our tongues out and holding them still, our tongues are having less information coming in.
“If your tongue is outside your mouth, it’s not getting all that information from inside your mouth all the time, and it just gives you a little tiny bit more mental capacity to concentrate on whatever you’re doing.”
Who would’ve thought?
To learn more about the interesting reasons behind some of the things you do, listen to the full conversation in the listener above, or wherever you get your podcasts.
And don’t forget to join the Hope Book Club Facebook Community. See you there!
Feature image: All photos supplied