Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsCommon ReasonsHow to Prevent ItMedical ReasonsWhen to See a Provider
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Common Reasons
How to Prevent It
Medical Reasons
When to See a Provider
“Zoning out” or “spacing out” refers to a short period of feeling disconnected from your senses or things happening around you. When you zone out, you might momentarily forget where you are or what you are doing. In medical terms, this sensation is described asdissociation.
Nearly everyone zones out from time to time. and, most of the time, it’s of little to no concern. However, there are instances when zoning out is a sign of a serious health problem ranging fromseizuresandmini-stroketo mental health conditions like depression and PTSD.
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Common Reasons for Zoning Out
Zoning out generally describes a mild form of dissociation. Dissociation is a lapse in how your mind normally works, during which you may feel disconnected from your thoughts, feelings, memories, and surroundings. Most lapses are momentary, lasting for seconds or minutes, although some episodes may last longer.
These changes are often incidental and can occur due to many common conditions.
Fatigue
Extremefatiguecan take a toll on how your brain normally works. While you appear awake and fully conscious, your brain may struggle to maintain alertness and suddenly develop"brain fog."
While this may occur simply because you are overworked andsleep-deprived, it can also occur with extreme physical overexertion, such as running a marathon.
Distraction
Studies have shown that during moments of distraction, levels of a neurotransmitter calledacetylcholinewill drop, interrupting the normal rhythm of the posteromedial cortex.
Stress and Anxiety
Stress,anxiety, and dissociation are common even if you are not fatigued or sleep-deprived. With stress and anxiety, the brain has a way of shutting down momentarily when it is overtaxed.
Zoning out is usually not a serious medical concern but can be problematic if it occurs frequently due to boredom, fatigue, stress, or anxiety.
If you find yourself zoning out because of these concerns, there are some things you can do to help keep you in the present:
Hypotension
Hypotension(low blood pressure) can reduce blood flow to the brain, causing you to feel dizzy or lightheaded as the brain is deprived of oxygen. This can also cause you to lose focus or general awareness for seconds or minutes due to reduced oxygen (hypoxia) in tissues of the posteromedial cortex.
Hypoglycemia
Hypoglycemia(low blood sugar) can also cause you to lose your sense of awareness for a brief period. This is becauseglucose(blood sugar) is the main fuel for the functioning of thecentral nervous system.
When hypoglycemia is moderate to severe, it can alter brain function, leading to a cascade of neurologic symptoms calledneuroglycopenia. Neuroglycopenia commonly starts with dissociation before moving onto confusion, drowsiness, and seizures.
Migraine
Migraine headachesusually cause severe, one-side head pain. Sometimes, the pain can be so severe that it can cause a temporary loss of awareness your surroundings.
On the other hand, people with chronic migraines can experience dissociative episodes irrespective of how mild or severe the pain may be. These episodes will often precede the actual headache pain and be accompanied with a sudden hypersensitivity and aversion to smells (osmophobia).
Intoxication or Drug-Altered State
There are many psychotropic (mind-altering) drugs that can induce a dissociative state. Some cause dissociation when overused, while others induce dissociation rapidly.
These include regulated and illicit drugs such as:
Transient Ischemic Attack
Atransient ischemic attack (TIA), also known as a “mini-stroke,” is a brief, reversible stroke that does not cause permanent damage. It is caused a the loss of blood flow to the brain, calledischemia, that can affect both muscle control and brain functioning.
Dissociation is common with a TIA, along with other symptoms such as:
TIA symptoms can range from mild to severe based on the location and extent of blood flow obstruction.
Seizure
Common signs of an absence seizure include:
Also calledpetit malseizures, absence seizures more commonly affect children withepilepsyand account for roughly 10% of all epileptic seizures in this age group.
Transient Global Amnesia
Transient global amnesia (TGA)is a temporary interruption of short-term memory. This is a rare event that can last for hours at a time. If you experience TGA, you will not remember events, although you may appear to behave normally to those around you.
TGA can occur with epilepsy, stroke, or brain injury but can also occur with non-traumatic events such as receiving shocking news, overexerting yourself physically, or being suddenly immersed in icy cold water.
Dissociative Disorders
There are many psychiatric conditions associated with dissociation. These dissociative episodes often involve out-of-body sensations or feelings that you are disconnected from everything around you.
Psychiatric conditions associated with dissociation include:
In cases like these, disassociation may be a form of self-protection to bolster you from having to face a severe past or current trauma.
When to See a Healthcare Provider
Seek medical attention if zoning out involves any of the following, which could indicate a medical cause:
Summary
Zoning out generally refers to a mild and transient case of dissociation due to things like fatigue, anxiety, stress, or simply boredom or distraction. However, it can also occur with hypotension, hypoglycemia, migraine, dissociative drug, a mini-stroke, transient global amnesia, and psychiatric conditions like PTSD, major depression, and borderline personality disorder.
16 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Vesuna S, Kauvar IV, Richman E, et al.Deep posteromedial cortical rhythm in dissociation.Nature. 2020 Oct;586(7827):87-94. doi:10.1038/s41586-020-2731-9Boccia G, Dardenello D, Tarperi C, et al.Fatigue-induced dissociation between rate of force development and maximal force across repeated rapid contractions.Hum Mov Sci. 2017 Aug:54:267-275. doi:10.1016/j.humov.2017.05.016Demeter E, De Alburquerque D, Woldorff MG.The effects of ongoing distraction on the neural processes underlying signal detection.Neuropsychologia.2016 Jul 1;89:335–343. doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2016.06.038American Institute of Stress.50 common signs and symptoms of stress.American Academy of Sleep Medicine.Healthy sleep habits.Xiao Q, Yue C, He W, Yu J Yuan.The mindful self: a mindfulness-enlightened self-view.Frontiers Psychol. 2017;8:1752. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01752Topornycky J, Golparian S.Balancing openness and interpretation in active listening.Collect Essays Learn Teach.2016;9:175-184.He, Z, Lu R, Guan Y, et al.Brain metabolic connectivity patterns in patients with prolonged disorder of sonsciousness after hypoxic-ischemic injury: a preliminary study.Brain Sci.2022 Jul 7;12(7):892. doi:10.3390/brainsci12070892Martínez-Piña DA, Alvarado-Fernández GA, González-Guevara E, Castillo-Pérez C, Romero-Luna G, Torres-Ríos JA.Hypoglycemia and brain: the effect of energy loss on neurons. In:Basics of Hypoglycemia.IntechOpen: 2022. doi:10.5772/intechopen.95724Sacmaci H, Cengiz GF, Akturk T.Impact of dissociative experiences in migraine and its close relationship with osmophobia.Neurol Res. 2020 Jul;42(7):529-536. doi:10.1080/01616412.2020.1753417National Institute on Drug Abuse.Psychedelics and dissociative drugs.Zhao Y, Zhang X, Chen X, Wei Y.Neuronal injuries in cerebral infarction and ischemic stroke: from mechanisms to treatment.Int J Mol Med. 2022 Feb;49(2):15. doi:10.3892/ijmm.2021.5070Coutts SB.Diagnosis and management of transient ischemic attack.Continuum (Minneap Minn). 2017 Feb 3;23(1):82092. doi:10.1212/CON.0000000000000424Posner E.Absence seizures in children.Am Fam Physician.2015;91(2):114-115.Spiegel DR, Smith J, Wade RR, et al.Transient global amnesia: current perspectives. Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment. 2017:2691-703. doi:10.2147/NDT.S130710Cernis E, Evans R, Ehlers A, Freeman D.Dissociation in relation to other mental health conditions: an exploration using network analysis.J Psychiatr Res. 2021 Apr;136:460–467. doi:10.1016/j.jpsychires.2020.08.023
16 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Vesuna S, Kauvar IV, Richman E, et al.Deep posteromedial cortical rhythm in dissociation.Nature. 2020 Oct;586(7827):87-94. doi:10.1038/s41586-020-2731-9Boccia G, Dardenello D, Tarperi C, et al.Fatigue-induced dissociation between rate of force development and maximal force across repeated rapid contractions.Hum Mov Sci. 2017 Aug:54:267-275. doi:10.1016/j.humov.2017.05.016Demeter E, De Alburquerque D, Woldorff MG.The effects of ongoing distraction on the neural processes underlying signal detection.Neuropsychologia.2016 Jul 1;89:335–343. doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2016.06.038American Institute of Stress.50 common signs and symptoms of stress.American Academy of Sleep Medicine.Healthy sleep habits.Xiao Q, Yue C, He W, Yu J Yuan.The mindful self: a mindfulness-enlightened self-view.Frontiers Psychol. 2017;8:1752. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01752Topornycky J, Golparian S.Balancing openness and interpretation in active listening.Collect Essays Learn Teach.2016;9:175-184.He, Z, Lu R, Guan Y, et al.Brain metabolic connectivity patterns in patients with prolonged disorder of sonsciousness after hypoxic-ischemic injury: a preliminary study.Brain Sci.2022 Jul 7;12(7):892. doi:10.3390/brainsci12070892Martínez-Piña DA, Alvarado-Fernández GA, González-Guevara E, Castillo-Pérez C, Romero-Luna G, Torres-Ríos JA.Hypoglycemia and brain: the effect of energy loss on neurons. In:Basics of Hypoglycemia.IntechOpen: 2022. doi:10.5772/intechopen.95724Sacmaci H, Cengiz GF, Akturk T.Impact of dissociative experiences in migraine and its close relationship with osmophobia.Neurol Res. 2020 Jul;42(7):529-536. doi:10.1080/01616412.2020.1753417National Institute on Drug Abuse.Psychedelics and dissociative drugs.Zhao Y, Zhang X, Chen X, Wei Y.Neuronal injuries in cerebral infarction and ischemic stroke: from mechanisms to treatment.Int J Mol Med. 2022 Feb;49(2):15. doi:10.3892/ijmm.2021.5070Coutts SB.Diagnosis and management of transient ischemic attack.Continuum (Minneap Minn). 2017 Feb 3;23(1):82092. doi:10.1212/CON.0000000000000424Posner E.Absence seizures in children.Am Fam Physician.2015;91(2):114-115.Spiegel DR, Smith J, Wade RR, et al.Transient global amnesia: current perspectives. Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment. 2017:2691-703. doi:10.2147/NDT.S130710Cernis E, Evans R, Ehlers A, Freeman D.Dissociation in relation to other mental health conditions: an exploration using network analysis.J Psychiatr Res. 2021 Apr;136:460–467. doi:10.1016/j.jpsychires.2020.08.023
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Vesuna S, Kauvar IV, Richman E, et al.Deep posteromedial cortical rhythm in dissociation.Nature. 2020 Oct;586(7827):87-94. doi:10.1038/s41586-020-2731-9Boccia G, Dardenello D, Tarperi C, et al.Fatigue-induced dissociation between rate of force development and maximal force across repeated rapid contractions.Hum Mov Sci. 2017 Aug:54:267-275. doi:10.1016/j.humov.2017.05.016Demeter E, De Alburquerque D, Woldorff MG.The effects of ongoing distraction on the neural processes underlying signal detection.Neuropsychologia.2016 Jul 1;89:335–343. doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2016.06.038American Institute of Stress.50 common signs and symptoms of stress.American Academy of Sleep Medicine.Healthy sleep habits.Xiao Q, Yue C, He W, Yu J Yuan.The mindful self: a mindfulness-enlightened self-view.Frontiers Psychol. 2017;8:1752. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01752Topornycky J, Golparian S.Balancing openness and interpretation in active listening.Collect Essays Learn Teach.2016;9:175-184.He, Z, Lu R, Guan Y, et al.Brain metabolic connectivity patterns in patients with prolonged disorder of sonsciousness after hypoxic-ischemic injury: a preliminary study.Brain Sci.2022 Jul 7;12(7):892. doi:10.3390/brainsci12070892Martínez-Piña DA, Alvarado-Fernández GA, González-Guevara E, Castillo-Pérez C, Romero-Luna G, Torres-Ríos JA.Hypoglycemia and brain: the effect of energy loss on neurons. In:Basics of Hypoglycemia.IntechOpen: 2022. doi:10.5772/intechopen.95724Sacmaci H, Cengiz GF, Akturk T.Impact of dissociative experiences in migraine and its close relationship with osmophobia.Neurol Res. 2020 Jul;42(7):529-536. doi:10.1080/01616412.2020.1753417National Institute on Drug Abuse.Psychedelics and dissociative drugs.Zhao Y, Zhang X, Chen X, Wei Y.Neuronal injuries in cerebral infarction and ischemic stroke: from mechanisms to treatment.Int J Mol Med. 2022 Feb;49(2):15. doi:10.3892/ijmm.2021.5070Coutts SB.Diagnosis and management of transient ischemic attack.Continuum (Minneap Minn). 2017 Feb 3;23(1):82092. doi:10.1212/CON.0000000000000424Posner E.Absence seizures in children.Am Fam Physician.2015;91(2):114-115.Spiegel DR, Smith J, Wade RR, et al.Transient global amnesia: current perspectives. Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment. 2017:2691-703. doi:10.2147/NDT.S130710Cernis E, Evans R, Ehlers A, Freeman D.Dissociation in relation to other mental health conditions: an exploration using network analysis.J Psychiatr Res. 2021 Apr;136:460–467. doi:10.1016/j.jpsychires.2020.08.023
Vesuna S, Kauvar IV, Richman E, et al.Deep posteromedial cortical rhythm in dissociation.Nature. 2020 Oct;586(7827):87-94. doi:10.1038/s41586-020-2731-9
Boccia G, Dardenello D, Tarperi C, et al.Fatigue-induced dissociation between rate of force development and maximal force across repeated rapid contractions.Hum Mov Sci. 2017 Aug:54:267-275. doi:10.1016/j.humov.2017.05.016
Demeter E, De Alburquerque D, Woldorff MG.The effects of ongoing distraction on the neural processes underlying signal detection.Neuropsychologia.2016 Jul 1;89:335–343. doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2016.06.038
American Institute of Stress.50 common signs and symptoms of stress.
American Academy of Sleep Medicine.Healthy sleep habits.
Xiao Q, Yue C, He W, Yu J Yuan.The mindful self: a mindfulness-enlightened self-view.Frontiers Psychol. 2017;8:1752. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01752
Topornycky J, Golparian S.Balancing openness and interpretation in active listening.Collect Essays Learn Teach.2016;9:175-184.
He, Z, Lu R, Guan Y, et al.Brain metabolic connectivity patterns in patients with prolonged disorder of sonsciousness after hypoxic-ischemic injury: a preliminary study.Brain Sci.2022 Jul 7;12(7):892. doi:10.3390/brainsci12070892
Martínez-Piña DA, Alvarado-Fernández GA, González-Guevara E, Castillo-Pérez C, Romero-Luna G, Torres-Ríos JA.Hypoglycemia and brain: the effect of energy loss on neurons. In:Basics of Hypoglycemia.IntechOpen: 2022. doi:10.5772/intechopen.95724
Sacmaci H, Cengiz GF, Akturk T.Impact of dissociative experiences in migraine and its close relationship with osmophobia.Neurol Res. 2020 Jul;42(7):529-536. doi:10.1080/01616412.2020.1753417
National Institute on Drug Abuse.Psychedelics and dissociative drugs.
Zhao Y, Zhang X, Chen X, Wei Y.Neuronal injuries in cerebral infarction and ischemic stroke: from mechanisms to treatment.Int J Mol Med. 2022 Feb;49(2):15. doi:10.3892/ijmm.2021.5070
Coutts SB.Diagnosis and management of transient ischemic attack.Continuum (Minneap Minn). 2017 Feb 3;23(1):82092. doi:10.1212/CON.0000000000000424
Posner E.Absence seizures in children.Am Fam Physician.2015;91(2):114-115.
Spiegel DR, Smith J, Wade RR, et al.Transient global amnesia: current perspectives. Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment. 2017:2691-703. doi:10.2147/NDT.S130710
Cernis E, Evans R, Ehlers A, Freeman D.Dissociation in relation to other mental health conditions: an exploration using network analysis.J Psychiatr Res. 2021 Apr;136:460–467. doi:10.1016/j.jpsychires.2020.08.023
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