Many of my friends, teachers, romantic partners and even my parents have all told me to stop
fidgeting, "TRACE STOP SHAKING YOUR LEG."
But I didn't even know I was doing it MOM, geez!
fidgeting friends Once upon a time, Psychologist Sir Francis
Galton was sitting in a lecture, got bored and decided to watch the audience instead
of listen to the speaker.
(been there!)
According to him, these elderly Victorian lecture-goers were, "swaying from side-to-side"
at about "1 fidget a minute."
When the audience's attention was aroused, he noticed their fidgeting would lessen.
In his paper, published in Nature, titled "The Measure of Fidget" Galton determined
people must fidget out of boredom!
This was before discussions about hyperactivity or sugar, or before the television RUINED
our attention span.
This was 1885!
130 years ago, people fidgeted.
It's definitely not caused by over-caffeinated, ADHD-prone, coddled millennials.
Instead, fidgeting seems to be part of human nature.
The dictionary defines fidgeting as "small movements, especially of the hands and feet,
caused by nervousness or impatience," but science has another explanation; it's a way
to keep my brain active and focused.
Yep, you heard me, fidgeting may equal focus.
HASHTAG SCIENCE, YO.
When brains are stressed we don't pay as close attention, and we don't learn as much!
Cognitive Load Theory says to think of the brain like a CPU; when too much is going on
the brain can't focus.
So, to offload some of that stress, the brain might trigger our fidgeting!
Lower stress is highly associated with better learning and memory performance, so fidgeting
can help us learn!
Though science isn't sure… because maybe it's just men…
For some reason men fidget twice as often as women, and a 2005 study from the University
of Hertfordshire found fidgeting can reduce levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which
should lower stress.
A study in PLoS ONE, however, that benefit seems to fall on men who fidgeted.
The fidgeting men they tested performed better on cognitive tests and had lower stress, but
fidgeting women did neither.
Another study with ADHD kids further muddies the fidgeting waters, as fidgeting doesn't
help everyone all the time.
A study in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology assessed the working memory of young fidgeting
boys.
When ADHD kids were put in a swivel chair and allowed to spin, they performed better
on memory tests.
However, kids without ADHD performed worse when they were allowed to spin, and better
when they stayed still.
It would seem, though fidgeting may lower stress and help learning, there's a level
where the benefits to our attention and learning disappear.
For example, drawing random doodles, kicking feet, or shaking legs may be fine, but drawing
specific pictures or walking around the room is too distracting and benefits are lost.
So, perhaps boys with ADHD need to fidget?
What about girls?
Do they get ANY benefit?
Well, a study from September 2015 in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, looked at
13,000 UK women 12 years apart and found adults who fidgeted, also burned calories!
Their results found fidgeters had quote "better health outcomes," than their still counterparts.
And another study in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise found fidgeting can burn
up to 144 calories a day!
That's more than a can of pop!
Some researchers believe fidgeting seems to be an adaptation to our more sedentary lifestyle.
But a study in Frontiers in Psychology looking at memory retention of lectures, and fidgeting…
found almost the same as Galton in 1885.
If you track the number of fidgets per minute, it's a good indicator of audience boredom.
Fidgeting seems to be a representation of our animal brains working hard to keep on
task and learning.
It can be irksome, but as long as it's not distracting to others, it's not necessarily
bad, and is (at least) burning some calories!
Sometimes we're just… fidgety widgety.
Do you fidget?
How?
Pen clicker?
Leg shaker?
Finger tapper?
Nail biter?
Whatchoo got?
Tell us your fidgeting functions down below.
Fidgeting might be annoying to some, but sitting is killing you.
Yep.
Your chair.
It's slowing killing you right now.
Find out more in this video