What Really Happens Up There During a Brain Fart?

Uh oh. It happened again. You’ve walked into a room with a purpose, only to realize you have no idea why you’re there or what you were doing. Welcome to the club. Since I turned 40, ahem, a *few* years ago, I’ve noticed a distinct uptick in these mental lapses. Some people like to call them ‘brain farts’—those moments when your brain seems to be conspiring to make you feel or look stupid. 

It might induce a laugh or two the first few times it happens, but it can also leave you frustrated, scratching your head, and wondering, “Am I losing it?” If you’re like me and have a family history of Alzheimer’s disease, you might also start to worry that it might indicate a more serious problem with your memory.

I talked to some mental health experts to help explain why these quirky cognitive hiccups happen–and when they might be a sign of something more serious.

What Causes Brain Farts?

“Mental lapses—forgetting a name, losing focus, or struggling to think clearly—are pretty standard and often linked to stress, fatigue, and multitasking demands,” explains Dr. Caroline Fenkel, DSW, LCSW, an adolescent and mental health expert and chief clinical officer at Charlie Health.

The specific type of brain fart that plagues me–forgetting what I was doing once I walk into a room–even has its own name: the doorway effect. It’s described as a type of short-term memory loss that happens when people move from one location to the next.

According to researchers, it happens because our brains create a temporary “event model.” This event model contains information about the environment and the various thoughts and actions that relate to it.

Walking from one place to the next obviously doesn’t always trigger this phenomenon, and the doorway effect isn’t the only factor that contributes to brain farts in different situations. Other factors that can play a role include:

Attention

My own forgetful moments tend to strike when I’m multitasking. Juggling multiple mental tasks often means doing some things on autopilot. Since your attention isn’t fully focused on what you’re doing, you’re more likely to experience these mistakes.

“When we try to juggle too many things simultaneously, our cognitive resources become stretched, and we’re more likely to experience these mental ‘blips,'” Dr. Fenkel explains.

Age

Unfortunately, research suggests that this mental flatulence may start to increase as you get older. Sure, the sheer business of life definitely plays a part, but certain cognitive abilities, including memory, processing speed, attention, and executive function, really do tend to decline with age.

Stress

Mental mistakes are more likely to happen when you’re dealing with a lot of stress. 

“When we’re under stress, our brains prioritize immediate concerns, often at the expense of less urgent tasks, like remembering where we put our keys,” Dr. Fenkel says.

“Stress is known to be a factor that can contribute to memory issues. As we age, we can be at higher risk for developing memory lapses,” says Dr. Stacey E. Podkovik, DO, a pediatric neurosurgeon and co-founder of JellyMed. “However, it’s important not to just brush these symptoms off to age and to speak with your primary care provider if you have any concerns.”

Fatigue

Have you ever searched for your glasses only to find them on your head, or zoned out in traffic and almost rear-ended another car? Evidence suggests that these types of brain farts might be caused by sleep deprivation.

Poor sleep doesn’t just leave you feeling cranky and exhausted; research has found that it can also create lapses in memory and visual perceptions.

A study led by UCLA researchers found that the brain slowed in sleep-deprived participants, leading to more mistakes during tasks. Because lack of sleep disrupts communication between brain cells, it also affects the ability of these cells to encode information and interpret visual signals.

Boredom

Research also suggests that you’re more likely to experience brain farts when you are engaged in routine, monotonous tasks. When your brain drifts off, your default mode network becomes activated. This consumes a lot of the brain’s energy. To fuel it, the brain may shut down other processing systems, leaving you less attentive and more prone to making basic goofs.

Common Examples of Brain Farts

We’ve all been there at some point or another, so you can probably think of a few examples of brain farts you’ve experienced in your own life. Maybe you forgot what you were talking about in the middle of a sentence. Or you walked into the grocery store only to find that you couldn’t remember what you stopped to get.

Becoming more aware of these types of brain blunders can help you feel a little better about your own mistakes. Honestly, it can be a little reassuring to realize that these moments regularly happen to other people, too!

Forgetting Someone’s Name

I am the *worst* at remembering people’s names. After being introduced to someone, I’ll often realize—literally just moments later—that I’ve already forgotten their name. Oops!

Inattention and distractions are frequently to blame. If you aren’t fully focused on learning the other person’s name when it’s announced, it fades from your short-term memory before it can be transferred to long-term memory. Other distractions, like carrying on a conversation or paying attention to other details, can make it harder to focus on this information.

Misplacing Objects

Misplacing objects is another common type of brain fart that often happens when you perform tasks on autopilot. You know you put your keys…somewhere. A place that made sense. A place you’d definitely remember later, right? So why are you scrambling to remember where they might be when you’re already late for work?

Chances are good that you sat them down somewhere without really thinking about it. Since you failed to encode that bit of information in your memory, you’re not able to actually remember where you left them when you really need them.

Making Simple Errors in Calculations

Even if you consider yourself a math wiz, you’ve probably made the mistake of going over budget or underestimating how much cash you’ll need due to simple calculation errors. These mistakes might stem from overconfidence in our abilities, but fatigue and distractions can also play a part. Either way, they are a reminder that everyone has their moments.

Getting Sidetracked During a Conversation

Do you ever start talking about one thing and get sidetracked by some tangentially related story, only to realize that you’ve completely forgotten the original focus of your story?

It can be a bewildering experience, but it’s important to remember that it happens to everyone. Factors like fatigue, distractions, and information overload can leave you scrambling when you lose the plot. 

Impact of Brain Farts

In most cases, we only recognize these mistakes after the fact. We’ve made the error, and now we need to make an excuse to explain why it happened. Depending on the nature of the lapse, you might feel like laughing at your own forgetfulness or hiding your head in the sand to avoid embarrassment. But can these mental lapses really have an impact on your daily life?

“These ‘blips’ absolutely can become intrusive if they begin happening more frequently to where they affect your day-to-day life. Particularly when the people around you begin to notice,” Dr. Podkovik says. “It can be very worrisome when it begins affecting your functioning at places such as work.”

 While brain farts are usually harmless, that doesn’t mean they aren’t inconvenient, frustrating, or cringe-worthy. Some possible effects include:

• Embarrassment: Let’s face it, brain farts sometimes do live up to their names. You might find yourself blushing if you forget someone’s name, make a simple mistake, or lose your train of thought, particularly if it happens during a professional or formal social context.
• Social awkwardness: Mental flubs can make conversations awkward, especially if they involve a social faux pas (like making a cringe-inducing Freudian slip, calling someone by the wrong name, or accidentally ignoring someone). 
• Self-doubt: These moments can leave you questioning yourself, your abilities, and your cognitive health. It might feel like you’re losing your memory or that your intellect is slipping.
• Frustration: Struggling to remember a word that seems like it’s on the tip of your tongue or something that you were supposed to do can be really frustrating. It can also be annoying and inconvenient when you waste a lot of time thinking about what you were doing, where you put something, or some other detail you’ve forgotten. This can hurt your productivity and reduce your time to focus on other tasks.

Coping Strategies for Brain Farts

While brain farts are a part of life, there are things you can do to minimize how often they happen–and deal with them gracefully when they do:

• Stay organized: Keeping your space neat, tidy, and organized can go a long way toward minimizing mental mishaps. Make a designated spot for the items you use regularly, like your keys, glasses, and wallet.
• Write things down: If you tend to forget certain information, such as names, dates, or appointments, start writing them down as soon as you can. You might keep a notebook handy or try an online app to keep track of this type of information. Sometimes, just the act of writing it down can help cement it more firmly in your memory.
• Use active listening: As you take in new information, work on staying fully engaged and giving it your full attention. “It’s also helpful to resist the urge to multitask,” Dr. Fenkel suggests. “Instead, try to focus on one thing at a time, allowing your brain to engage with the task entirely.”
• Slow down: If you’re feeling rushed, take a step back and try to slow things down a bit. Give yourself some extra time to think before you respond. This can go a long way toward reducing blunders.
• Get plenty of sleep: Brain farts are more likely to happen when you are tired, so strive to get enough rest each night. “Prioritizing sleep is super important; a well-rested brain is sharper and less prone to errors,” Dr. Fenkel says.

She also recommends taking steps to manage your stress. “Relaxation techniques like deep breathing, meditation, or simply taking a break can help keep your brain in a more optimal state.”

Mindfulness can also be a helpful way to focus more on the present and minimize the distractions that can derail your train of thought. “Practicing mindfulness can train your brain to stay in the moment, improving focus and reducing the frequency of these mental lapses,” Dr. Fenkel says.

So what should you do when a brain fart does happen? Laugh it off! Trust us, it happens to everyone, so it helps to maintain a sense of humor about it. Laugh, apologize for your mistake, and move on. 

Takeaways

According to the experts, brain farts generally aren’t a cause for concern. If you are worried, consider some of the factors that might be playing a role, such as your age, stress, and attention levels. Try utilizing some simple memory-boosting strategies, such as avoiding multitasking, taking notes, and slowing down when possible.

If these tricks aren’t helping, or if you notice that your memory problems are worsening, talk to your doctor. They can evaluate your memory for signs of a more serious problem–and suggest treatments or solutions that can help.