Ever heard the expression “bet you can’t walk and chew gum at the same time?” I am not sure I really appreciated the full extent of its meaning until just last week.
At the in Washington DC in February, a series of new research studies were unveiled. One such study, described by Prof. Jeffrey M. Hausdorff , Director of Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, was on the topic of dual-tasking while waking. That is, walking and doing one other thing at the same time – like talking, observing the trees and flowers or other tasks that require a little attention.
Turns out that there’s a strong correlation between our executive function skills and our ability to dual task while walking. Prof. Hausdorff went on to describe how deficits in this cognitive function that are experienced by elderly people, and certainly those with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, can be a significant contributor to falls. Falls are a well known source of further disability issues and general decline with the elderly.
Now while I was pondering this new information on the role of focused attention and problem solving in dual tasking, I got a call from a friend and I began to describe this new insight. “Wow” was her response. “That’s really interesting. I can ballroom dance, because when I’m dancing, I’m thinking about what my body is doing. But when I’m walking down the street, I’m not thinking about walking down the street – I’m thinking about what I need to work on, what I’m going to buy or what I’m going to make for dinner and OUCH! what was that I just banged into?”
Prof. Hausdorff has a strong hypotheses that brain training to strengthen focused attention and executive function will result in better regular walking abilities and improved ability to dual task, and ultimately contribute to reduced falls in the elderly. This makes logical sense. This research topic could have very practical impact in reducing hospitalization for falls and help to keep health care costs down for elderly citizens. We’ll look forward to more research evidence. In the meantime, the Aging Well Program of Cognitive Training may help senior citizens with challenges in this area.
One Comment
Geez… I can’t believe how many people refer to this phrase, and use it as if it was actually meant to be. The actual phrase is “…its like trying to TALK and chew gum at the same time…”, in reference to people who take on too much when multi-tasking. The phrase was misquoted by then-President Gerald Ford as “WALK and chew gum”, and became fodder for several late-night talkshow monologues. But it really took on its own life when it was parodied by Chevy Chase that weekend on Saturady Night Live, in a skit that poked fun by having the Presdident start to chew on a stick of gum, and then suddenly start tripping into things, unable to walk. At the time, Ford had suffered a few mishaps in public, and his inherent clumsiness had become a weekly comedy bit for Chase, who portrayed the hapless prez.
Like so many catch phrases, the reference has been lost with time, and replaced by defintions that seem to make sense. I found the following posted online:
Walk and chew gum (at the same time)
– to be able to do more than one thing at a time. Example: “Officials say they have to plan for all kinds of possibilities, that they have to be able to walk and chew gum at the same time.”
- Cambridge Dictionary of American Idioms Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2006
I have to be honest; I miss the days when this phrase served as veiled ridicule…
“Gee, you’re so smart. I bet you’re one of those guys that can walk and chew gum at the same time.”