• Something to Think About: How multitasking hurts your relationships

young couple sitting back to back on cell phones multitaskingWhile multitasking makes it easier to get to the end of your to-do list, doing it habitually can come with a cost. Dr. Amit Sood, author of The Mayo Clinic Guide to Stress-free Livingsays multitasking:

  • Fatigues the brain
  • Increases error risk
  • Impairs the ability to do any task well
  • Hinders deeper experiences
  • Increases stress

Despite these risks, multitasking is part of modern life. Knowing when and where it's appropriate can help you dodge multitasking's pitfalls.

In this Mayo Clinic Minute, reporter Jeff Olsen speaks with Dr. Sood about an area of your life where multitasking should be off limits.

Watch: The Mayo Clinic Minute

Journalists: Broadcast-quality video pkg (1:06) is in the downloads. Read the script.

Read Dr. Sood's blog posts and follow @AmitSoodMD on Twitter.

Dr. Sood is director of research in the Complementary and Integrative Medicine Program on Mayo Clinic's Rochester campus in Minnesota. He also chairs the Mind-Body Medicine Initiative at Mayo Clinic.