CAN’T THINK? –
Jan. 4, 2026 – You know the feeling. Someone asks a question, your eyes are open, you’re technically awake, but there’s just nothing there. No thoughts. No distractions. Just a brief internal blackout. According to new research, that experience might not be zoning out at all. It could be consciousness briefly stepping away. Scientists call the phenomenon “mind blanking,” and a new study suggests it’s a distinct mental state, separate from daydreaming or distraction. In these moments, awareness can actually pause, even while the body stays awake. Researchers at Sorbonne Université studied 62 adults during a simple attention task. Every 40 to 70 seconds, participants were asked what had been happening in their minds just before the prompt. They could report focused attention, mind wandering, mind blanking, or uncertainty. Mind blanking appeared about 16 percent of the time, nearly half as often as mind wandering, which suggests it’s far from rare.
