Wandering Minds

When the task was over, they measured each participant's working memory capacity by having them remember letters while doing math equations. | Researchers studied groups of people from the University of Wisconsin-Madison community, ranging in age from 18 to 65. | Though all participants performed well on the task, the researchers noticed that the individuals who indicated their minds had wandered more than others also scored higher on the working memory test. | The first group was asked to perform simple tasks, like pressing a button every time they took a breath or clicking in response to a letter popping up on a computer screen; these tasks were so easy that their minds were likely to wander, the researchers figured. | The researchers checked in periodically, asking the participants if their minds were on task or wandering.