Wait… What Was I Thinking? A Look at Mind Blanking
November 19, 2025
One of our writers recently stumbled across a gem of an article from Popular Science all about a weirdly relatable topic: mind blanking.
You know that moment when someone asks your name or what you were just doing, and suddenly your brain throws up a “404: Thought Not Found” error? Turns out, you’re not just forgetful — it’s a real thing, and it might happen up to 20% of the time!
Cognitive neuroscientist Athena Demertzi is diving deep into this mental mystery, and the research is actually kind of mind-blowing. (Pun very much intended.)
What makes mind blanking so fascinating is how slippery it is to define. Demertzi found at least seven different ways scientists have tried to explain it, but her take is this: it’s the feeling of not being able to report what you were thinking.
Think “I zoned out,” “I wasn’t paying attention,” or “I have no idea what just happened.”
Think “I zoned out,” “I wasn’t paying attention,” or “I have no idea what just happened.”
And here’s where it gets really wild — when people report these blank moments, their brain scans show a very specific signal: everything kind of powers down at once. Like a mental reboot.
This isn’t just spacing out; it’s more like your brain is hitting the pause button on purpose.
Even cooler? These mini mental blackouts might actually be good for us.
The same kind of neural activity shows up during sleep or under anesthesia, and Demertzi thinks it might be our brain’s way of doing a little cleanup while we’re still awake. It’s not just about daydreaming — it’s possibly maintenance mode! And yes, mind blanking shows up more often in people with ADHD or anxiety, but Demertzi suggests that for everyone, these blank spots might be like little pit stops that help our minds run better overall.
So next time your brain checks out mid-meeting or during a Zoom call, just tell yourself you’re probably optimizing your cognitive performance. Science says so.