When someone concentrates heavily on a drawing or other task involving fine motor function, they’ll often stick their tongue out a bit. Does this help concentration? Why do people do it?
I’ve heard something similar about men in the trenches in WWI, they often yawned before going over the top, a reaction that was deemed to be their subconcious desire to be somewhere else (namely in bed). Something similar perhaps?
Most people don’t. I don’t. Maybe the people doing it are thinking about the person making them draw.
People doing a tricky job will stick their tongue out and clamp it between their lips. Why?
This question was raised in the New Scientist and reprinted in the book Why Don’t Penguins’ Feet Freeze? (and 114 other questions) (Profile Books, 2006). I paraphrase the two replies and pass them on without comment.
(1) When concentrating hard on a task you are using the hemisphere of the brain also used for processing motor input. An example of this is when people slow down when they are thinking of a problem while walking. This is due to interference from the two activities competing for the same portion of brain to process them. Regarding the tongue sticking out, it’s possible that you are suspending motor activity and also keeping your head rigid to minimise movement and hence interference.
(2) Large areas of the brain are devoted to control of the tongue and to the receipt of sensation from it. Maybe with the tongue held rigid against the teeth or lips the activity of those areas is subdued, allowing delicate tasks like threading a needle to proceed with less interference.
Because Michael Jordan used to do it while dunking. I don’t care who you are, that’s cool.
Great distance runner Emil Zatopek (here, in front), used to grimace and stick his tongue out when he ran. It thus looked like he was in a lot of pain, which he said he was not. It’s just, he said, that he rested all the muscles he didn’t need for running. Maybe it’s the same process at work when drawing: concentration on a task brings one to temporarily let go of unnecessary muscle activity.
In the same vein, I’m always fascinated by the faces people make when they shoot pool, for example.
Hmmm… I’ve never heard this, but I have heard that people yawn when their adrenaline starts flowing. That would explain the “over the top” yawning phenomenon, but I have no reputable cite to present just yet. Anyone?
It’s a strange thing. I always chew on my tongue when doing artwork in Photoshop or Illustrator, never in any non-art applications. I also do it when doing non-computer artwork. I remember my second-grade teacher reprimanding me for chewing my tongue when drawing.
My piano instructor told me there was a neural connection between the fingers and the tongue. Perhaps they use the same portion of the brain. I have no cite to back this up so I make no claims to its validity.
I used to stick my tongue out while I played the piano. It was virtually impossible to stop.
My tongue automatically sticks itself out when I (i) play tennis, (ii) draw or paint, or (iii) play pool. All have their artistic / creative elements, and all require concentration. I probably do it at other times, too, but unless I’m observed doing it, I probably don’t notice.
I’ve always done it, and I would like to take this moment to thank Michael Jordan for giving me a solid response to the various cretins who have mocked me for it over the years.
There may be some sort of a connection for some people, but as always YMMV. I’ve only ever knew one person who did this, and all the other students in the (art) class found it very odd. That was in high school.
I now attend an art college (third year in), and I’ve never found another person who sticks his tongue out while he draws. I just assumed the guy who did it back in high school had it as a learned behavior when he was building up fine finger movements as a child.
Thanks for the non-answer, champ.
I asked this very same question long ago. Here is the thread.
Strangely enough, my question was why cartoon characters always stick their tongues out when doing something involving concentration - based on my premise that I never see anyone do this in real life. It seems the OP, on the other hand, has observed it. Someone in the old thread also mentioned Michael Jordan.
my WAG (and I grimace when concentrating) is that it helps block out other external stimulus (e.g. talking, cars etc), by providing a constant background stimulus (a bit like white noise). The tongue and facial areas, being very sensitive, are ideal for this purpose. Rubbing the face when thinking is another example.
Our son does that when he’s really concentrating on anything he is doing. Whether he is drawing or doing homework his tongue sticks out. Not sure why, he just does. 
I do it, but I don’t stick my tongue straight out. I jam it into my cheek.
I also chew on things all the time when I’m thinking - I destroy pen caps like nobody’s business, and I’ve even chewed straight through headphone cords while writing papers on the computer.
My guess would be that it has something to do with thought, not fine motor skills.
My best mate’s an architect. When he’s thinking very hard on a drawing and (as he puts it) really struggling with holding a complex 3D shape in his head, his right ear goes cherry red. We have a lot to learn about neurology, methinks.
Maybe it’s the cartoon legacy, but imagining someone making this goofy, unconscious tongue gesture while concentrating intensely on something else is making me giggle.
On a serious note, I’ve heard that “relax your tongue” is advice given to military trainees to help improve their focus. I assumed it was because, when your tongue is relaxed, it is physically obvious that you won’t be talking anytime soon, so you can focus on listening rather than preparing to speak. But maybe there’s more to it.
I don’t stick my tongue out when I’m concentrating, and I certainly don’t stick my tongue out during sex, causing my wife to giggle, and…
Shit. I’ve said too much.
As a younger man, I had to cure myself of the extremely awkward habit of poking my tongue out when I played guitar.
mm