70k Thoughts A Day??
While listening to a podcast episode on OCD, learning more about anxious thought loops, I heard an interesting statement. This was that humans each have about 70k thoughts a day… Pause the video!
I had to look into this, because if we are having 70,000 thought a day, that’s a whole lot to contend with. Interrupting the fear or anxiety loops of thought in our brain feels impossible if we are having upwards of 50 thoughts a minute. (Your brain has these loops of fear out of self preservation- if we perceive an issue, our brains will make more thoughts about this perceived problem to try and figure out a solution that brings us to safety.) This would be a lot of thoughts to intercept or slow down, and I honestly don’t feel like I have that many conscious thoughts in a minute. What do you think?
I found no studies, data or any reliable reference that could tell me where the estimate of 70k thoughts in a day originated. Here’s what I did find;
Studies show that humans have over 6,000 thoughts a day. I found a helpful article on healthline.com, which references this 2020 study. Both will be linked below, under References.
Here’s the formula;
Assume you get 8 hours of sleep, ( the study does not cover sleeping thoughts or dreams.) You will be awake for 16 hours. Humans have been observed through testing as having 6.5 thoughts per minute.
(6.5 x 60 x 16 = 6,240 thoughts in a day)
If you have had even less sleep, you will have time for even more thoughts. Studies also show how lack of sleep negatively effects the brain, along with lack of water or nutrients. You aren’t running at full capacity and may be more prone to distressing thoughts. That’s a topic for a different post, but I did want to note how all the extra thoughts you’re having with extra awake time may be harder to manage without sufficient rest.
I guess that’s our myth busting for the day. (;
I feel oddly relieved that we likely don’t have 70k thoughts in a day. 6,000+ thoughts seems much more manageable, and I do believe that mental health improves when we are armed with knowledge and compassion. We can do this!
Feel free to share your thoughts and feelings in the comments below.
RB
References;