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Zoning out is a normal experience that affects many people every day. It’s considered a mild form of dissociation, which is a disconnect between the present moment and your thoughts, feelings, memories, and actions. Dissociating can often happen when you’re tired, bored, distracted, stressed, or dealing with something challenging, and it’s common in people with mental health conditions like anxiety or depression.
When you’re tired, fatigued, or sleep-deprived, you’re naturally not as sharp or focused as you would be under normal circumstances. For this reason, you may tend to zone out more than usual. Research suggests that just one night of sleep deprivation may increase dissociative symptoms and lower the ability to stop unwanted thoughts.
If you’re under a lot of stress or going through a really challenging experience, you may have a higher tendency to zone out or shut down. Not only is your body flooded with the stress hormone cortisol, but you also may dissociate as a way for your brain to disconnect from the stress or traumatic event. Research suggests that when experiencing extreme stress, you’re likely to have high levels of cortisol (the stress hormone) along with more zoning out.
Sometimes you may zone out simply because you’re distracted. For example, watching TV while not fully engaged, or taking a walk with your mind elsewhere. Whatever the reason, this is a common experience. Research suggests this happens because of your brain’s default mode network, which is the area of your brain that’s responsible for internal thinking (talking to yourself in your head).
If you have an anxiety condition, you may notice that you tend to zone out, especially if you’re feeling anxious. This may be your brain’s way of coping when it can’t process your emotions effectively. You may also experience derealization, which is when you feel detached from the world around you.
Research suggests that it’s common for people with depression to zone out or experience dissociation. This can sometimes stem from a past trauma, including betrayal trauma, which occurs when you feel like someone has violated your trust. One 2022 study found that if you have high betrayal trauma, you’re more likely to zone out or experience dissociation.
Zoning out or becoming distracted is a common experience for people with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), especially when they’re stressed out or overwhelmed.
Most of the time, this dissociation shows up alongside:
- Challenges at school or work
- An inability to respond to social cues
- Impulsivity
Research suggests that dissociation overlaps with ADHD symptoms and can cause concentration issues.
When your blood sugar drops, it’s not uncommon to zone out or experience changes in your thought patterns. In severe cases, you may experience:
- Confusion
- Drowsiness
- Seizures
If you notice that your blood sugar frequently drops, talk to a doctor about your symptoms. Having low blood sugar can be dangerous.
Sometimes the pain from a migraine headache is so severe that it can affect your concentration. This can cause you to zone out or dissociate. In some people, this dissociation occurs before the migraine and is accompanied by osmophobia, which is a hypersensitivity or aversion to odors.
A mini stroke (transient ischemic attack) is a brief stroke where symptoms resolve within 24 hours. Typically, a change in blood flow to your brain can cause a mini stroke and affect your thinking and reasoning. You may also experience:
- Confusion
- Disorientation
- Dizziness
- Weakness
If you experience stroke-like symptoms, it’s important to get immediate medical attention, even if you think it is just a mini stroke.
Sometimes zoning out is related to blood flow to your brain rather than a mental health condition or thought pattern. When your blood pressure is low, this can cause you to feel dizzy or lightheaded. It’s fairly common when this happens to also lose focus in the present moment. If this happens to you more than once, you should talk to a doctor about your symptoms.
Zoning out isn’t usually a sign of a serious health condition. However, it can be disruptive to relationships, school, and work. If you find that you zone out often, there are steps you can take to prevent it from happening, as well as learn to be more intentional in your interactions.
Consider the following tips:
- Prioritize sleep: Feeling fatigued or sleep-deprived can make it challenging to concentrate. Make sure you get plenty of quality sleep every night to minimize distractions during the day. Sometimes this means making your room more sleep-friendly, such as avoiding screens before bed and only using your bed for sleeping and not working.
- Manage stress: When you’re stressed, your body produces cortisol and may enter fight or flight mode, which can cause a spike in energy. When these changes are taking place internally, it can be hard to concentrate or pay attention, and you are more prone to zoning out. Use strategies such as breathing exercises, yoga, and progressive muscle relaxation to manage your stress.
- Practice active listening: If you’re zoning out when talking with a friend, attending a work meeting, or listening to a lecture, it may help to fine-tune your active listening skills. Taking notes can also help you stay focused, while using recording devices may keep you from missing anything. Other strategies for active listening include asking for clarification, offering feedback, summarizing what was said, and focusing on making eye contact.
- Use mindfulness techniques: Mindfulness is a technique that helps you maintain your focus in the present moment rather than allowing the mind to wander. With practice, this strategy can help minimize outside distractions and avoid zoning out. Mindfulness is also helpful for people with chronic stress. So, if that’s the reason for your dissociation, you may find this technique particularly helpful.
- Minimize distractions: Sometimes you zone out because of outside distractions like email pings, incoming texts, or social media notifications. To keep these and other distractions from disrupting your focus, you may want to reduce distractions, especially when your attention is expected. A 2021 study found that smartphones and social media are the biggest distractions, so consider starting by powering down your phone when you need to focus.
If you continue to zone out, despite making efforts to focus your attention, schedule an appointment with a doctor for an exam. They can determine if you have an underlying condition like ADHD or are experiencing mini strokes. It may also help to see a mental health professional, like a psychiatrist, especially if your lack of focus is affecting your success at work or school. A psychiatrist is a doctor who specializes in treating, diagnosing, and preventing mental, emotional, and behavioral conditions.
Zoning out is a common experience that many people have and is considered a mild form of dissociation. Fatigue, sleep deprivation, ADHD, mood disorders, and stress can cause you to zone out.
To keep from zoning out, you can prioritize sleep, practice mindfulness, and practice active listening. If you continue to zone out even after making efforts to stop, speak with a doctor or mental health professional, especially if it is having a negative impact on your daily life.
