Introduction to why we all should fidget
According to Farley et al (2013) all humans naturally fidget and is a process that the brain and body requires to save personal resources like energy. According to Mehrabian and Friedman (1986) natural fidgeting behaviours into three categories: localised self-stimulation, gross body movements, and object manipulations. Localised self-stimulation includes movements such as rocking while seated, biting one’s lips, rubbing hands together and rubbing/pulling on one’s ear. Gross body movements encompass rotating of the neck or head, tapping the foot and bouncing the leg. Object manipulation included behaviours such as bending paper cups or cans, jiggling a pen, fondling jewellery, kicking pebbles, rocks, or cans, playing with sand, adjusting a watchband, chewing the end of a pen, shredding cigarette filters, or constantly stirring coffee or tea. Natural fidgeting is a common behaviour seen among individuals of all ages in a variety of settings, as movement is a ubiquitous part of the human experience. The research on natural fidgeting goes back to the early as the 1880’s when Galton (1885) measured fidgeting behaviour of audience members of long lectures and speculated that the people he observed during the lectures began to move more as they became less engaged in the presentation. The definition of natural fidgeting is one that does not have a true definition however it has been suggested in the research as any large or small movement conducted while engaged in a task that is not necessary to accomplish or meet the primary goal of the task (Farley et al., 2013), with suggestion that “fidgeting is an activity overflow and that it is more likely when an individual’s physical activity is constrained by the central or focal task (Mehrabian and Friedman, 1986). This said the question of why natural fidgeting occurs may be more straight forward. Natural fidgeting has been proposed to occur during periods of inattention, boredom, mental fatigue (Alderson et al., 2012; Carriere et al., 2013; Farley et al., 2013), mind wandering, concentration and focus (Carson et al., 2001; Levine et al., 2000; Stalvey & Brasell, 2006). According to Carriere (2013) hypothesis fidgeting is the body’s embodiment of the mind’s cognition in that the body physically expresses and displays what is occurring cognitively and when the mind becomes distracted the body will reflect this through fidgeting though movement. Like the research mentioned above Carriere (2013) suggest that natural fidgeting occurs during periods of inattention and spontaneous mind wandering meaning natural fidgeting is a sign that attention and focus have been lost. Another hypothesis as to why natural fidgeting occurs is a by-product of mind wandering and it is the body’s method of self-regulating, increasing overall arousal in the brain, and helping re-facilitate (Farley et al., 2013). Natural fidgeting has been suggested to be related to stress caused by sustained attention and as a by-product of this stress it is a way for the body to self-regulate and alleviate that stress (Farley et al., 2013). While natural fidgeting may be restorative and due to the negative effects on/off attention (Choi et al, 2104) and serve as an act of self-regulation (Dunn,2007), conducting natural fidgeting in sociality is seen as distracting and with some poor behaviour. Socially, natural fidgeting holds a negative connotation as it is “distracting.” It is not uncommon for people to be taught at a young age to “sit still” and “pay attention” (Mehrabian and Friedman, (1986). Natural fidgeting may serve as a mental “break” through the relief experienced from physical movement (Carriere, Seli, & Smilek, 2013). In-fact, Carriere, Seli, & Smilek, (2013) suggest that remaining sedentary and focused for extended periods of time is not consistent with the evolution of the human species and instead, frequent movement and spontaneous changes in topic of focus is considered the “norm”. The researchers also mention that individuals report feeling less mental strain while they are fidgeting, which in turn may be due to redirecting one’s attention temporarily away from a stressful stimulus. However, if the presence of stressors occurs and natural fidgeting is restricted there will be loss of mental resources and these resources will lead to psychological detachment form the task and environment. This is related to the premise of the conservation of resource model. According to the conservation of resource model people conserve and save their energy so that they have the resources available to expend when they deem necessary (Hobfoll, 1989). This model suggest that individuals have a limited number of resources at their disposal, and individuals strive to preserve, guard, and build resources that threaten these resources. The conservation of resource model suggests that when individuals are not confronted with stressors, they strive to increase their current resources to preclude future resource loss (Hobfoll,1989). However, when resources are lost when individuals engage in stressful situations like restriction on natural fidgeting the resources must be recovered (Sonnentag & Natter, 2004). Thus, if an individual depletes their resources and has not gained any additional resources, stress occurs and there is a loss and mental disengagement/detachment within the task carried out and that recovery can only occur through time away form the task and environment, for example by taking positive affective and self-selected breaks which involves movement.
So, lets recap on the findings
Humans are designed to move and fidget
Fidget is a natural part of all human Iife
Natural fidgeting is a way for the brain to express it stress, bult up through cognitive overload and boredom through the body and though movement
If you supress natural fidgeting the available recourses the individual has available to them becomes depleted and mental fatigue occurs
Once mental fatigue occurs the individual will be distant, disengaged, and detached form the task and environment leading to what some call behaviour issues both verbally and through movement
What to do
Always allow individuals to naturally fidget
Have lots of breaks to allow recovery of personal resources
Have lots of breaks that include movement and socialising away from the cognitive loads of the task
Never ever suppress any individual who is natural fidgeting
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