Jill Sparenberg said she cannot effectively perform multiple tasks at once.

Sparenberg, a senior elementary education major with the middle level option, has been a desk assistant at Lawson Hall for the past two-and-a-half years.

As a desk assistant, Sparenberg checks equipment out to residents, distributes mail, helps residents who lock themselves out and answers phone calls.

While Sparenberg handles her desk assistant responsibilities, she said she oftentimes also studies and talks with Lawson residents.

“This is the best job to have on campus,” Sparenberg said. “You can have some social interaction while getting your homework done.”

Aside from her job as a desk assistant, Sparenberg said she is not the best multitasker.

Sparenberg said she is more efficient at completing tasks when she is only focusing on one thing at a time, rather than switching back and forth between different projects.

“Whenever I have big papers to write, I like to have nothing going on for a day and sit down and write the paper all at once,” she said. “I don’t like to break it up, but I know some people only like to write a page and then take a break.”

Students like Sparenberg are becoming increasingly uncommon.

According to the 2006 Kaiser Family Foundation study, “Media multitasking among American youth: prevalence, predictors and pairings,” during a typical week, 81 percent of eight- to 18-year-olds spend some of their time using more than one type of media at once.

Another study done by the foundation, “Generation M,” reported these young multitaskers spend nearly a fourth of their time on media switching back and forth between different mediums.

Dr. Jordan Grafman, chief of the cognitive neuroscience section of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, said part of the reason so many people are multitasking is because of new technology.

With new gadgets such as the iPhone and BlackBerry, people have access to over five different types of media, all at the touch of a button.

“The problem with this kind of technology is that it is being introduced at an age when people have not established managerial skills and are still susceptible to the distractions that these technologies often promote,” Grafman said.

Jeffrey Stowell, associate professor of psychology, agrees with Grafman.

Stowell said technology has taken our attention away from other things. This extra distraction easily draws us away from the task at hand.

While watching television or listening to homework while studying may make the experience more enjoyable for some, Grafman said too much multitasking can have serious consequences.

Grafman said multitasking under time constraints will cause stress. Grafman said constant stress kills neurons in the brain structure, such as in the hippocampus and frontal lobes, which affects a person’s ability to make decisions and remember.

But Stowell said multitasking does not only have a negative affect on our brain, but on the rest of our body as well.

Stowell said when a person experiences stress, the body releases cortisol. Cortisol is a hormone produced by the adrenal glands which acts as our body’s own anti-inflammatory drug. It also helps to break down food for energy.

When too much cortisol is pumped out, Stowell said the hormone powerfully suppresses the immune system, resulting in illness.

Sparenberg said she does not think multitasking will ever go away. Although she does not multitask often, Sparenberg said she feels society promotes multitasking because of the many demands it makes of its members.

“I think it’s pretty much required of students to multitask – definitely to some extent,” she said.

With finals next week, Grafman and Stowell said students should prioritize the tasks they need to accomplish, in order to avoid become overly stressed.

Grafman said it is ok to multitask sometimes; it just depends on the individual and the tasks at hand.

“It is not so much how much you are doing at once,” he said. ” But about the level of detail and deliberation required by each task for a high quality performance.”

Stowell said students should try to distribute their energy equally across their coursework, unless they know one exam will be more difficult than the others.

He also said students should begin studying a little bit everyday, even if only for five minutes. Being exposed to the information on a daily basis will keep it fresh in the student’s mind, allowing them to retain more of the material.

And if a student begins to feel overwhelmed by their upcoming finals, Stowell said it’s important to remain calm.

“The first rule in our family is don’t freak out,” he said. “Realize you are going to make it no matter what and give it your best. Then be happy that you gave it your best.”