Most people would have you believe that talking to yourself is a sign of insanity. However, talking to yourself is an important tool for many reasons.
First and foremost, have you ever felt like you couldn’t think clearly until you began talking to yourself? Well, as it turns out, there is a reason for that. One Swiss psychologist observed how when toddlers began developing language, they could better control their actions.
For example, have you ever noticed a small child eating a bite of food, but before they do, they may say “Hot, hot?” The reason for this is that they are giving themselves a reminder to slow down and let their food cool down.
Even if we don’t realize it, this continues well into adulthood.
In a study carried out by Gary Lupyan and Daniel Swingley, we can better visualize things when we hear them by name, so when we speak out loud to ourselves, we are helping our cognition and helping our brain to work better.
The study was carried out to see if self-directed talk allowed us to visually process things better, and to do so, 26 participants were given complex tasks to perform in a supermarket. When the participants said the names out loud, they performed better.
Additionally, the more what they said out loud differentiated from what they were looking for, the less they were able to correctly find the object. However, when they used exact words to themselves out loud, they were more likely to find the object they were seeking.
Another great benefit of self-talk is increased self-esteem and improved confidence. And it helps to soothe loneliness. Honestly, while the world may brush off talking to yourself as craziness, they don’t realize how many amazing benefits talking to yourself provides.