1 Feb 2020

Kat Arney: Does fidgeting help us focus?

From Saturday Morning, 8:35 am on 1 February 2020

Are you a leg-jiggler, doodler, hair twiddler or pen clicker?  If so, you're not alone - many of us are fidgeters.

These habits are often seen as a mark of boredom, and viewed negatively, but there's growing evidence that fidgeting can actually aid focus.

Dr Kat Arney is a science writer and broadcaster who has interviewed academics, neuroscientists and fidgeters for her BBC podcast  Fidget On Four.

Her previous books include Herding Hemingway's Cats: Understanding How Our Genes Work (2016) and How to Code a Human (2017). Her latest book Rebel Cell, about the evolution of cancer, is due out in August.