Why Your Brain Hates Constant Context Switching (and What It’s Costing You)

You’re not distracted because you lack discipline.
You’re tired because your brain is being asked to switch contexts all day long.

In this episode of It’s me. Your Brain., Virginia explores why constant interruptions, emails, messages, meetings, notifications, and mental to-do lists, quietly exhaust the brain and degrade how we think, decide, and create.

You’ll learn:

• Why multitasking doesn’t actually exist in the brain, and what happens instead

• How context switching drains working memory and makes thinking feel shallow

• Why frequent switching keeps the nervous system in a low-grade state of alert

• The overlooked brain network responsible for insight, creativity, and integration, and why it rarely gets time anymore

• How fragmentation affects not just productivity, but judgment, learning, and emotional regulation

This episode isn’t just about work.

It’s for:

• leaders and executives navigating complex decisions

• entrepreneurs and founders juggling multiple roles

• students managing cognitive load and future pressure

• anyone who feels busy all day but struggles to feel clear or fulfilled

You’ll also hear why this matters at an organizational level, how fragmented attention quietly increases errors, slows work, and leads to thinner decision-making — and why continuity is becoming a critical human capability in an increasingly complex, AI-accelerated world.

There’s no optimization pressure here.
No hacks.
No “do more.”

Just a calmer, clearer understanding of how your brain actually works, and what it needs to function well.