The increased ubiquity of multitasking in higher education institutions enhances the need for more definitive, confirmatory answers in the research literature regarding the impact of multitasking on academic performance and students' well-being. This imperative stresses the need for more in-depth, evidence-based research and bio-physiological assessment of eustress or distress during multitasking between stimuli. The present exploratory study analyzes the relationship between distributive attention, prior vulnerability, text comprehension, and retention during multitasking in digital space, and the level of perceived and actual stress recorded in multitasking. The article presents the exploratory results of the first three stages of a six-stage experiment. The main three stages followed the dynamics of text comprehension, logical coherence, and text retention in non-multitasking vs. multitasking conditions under the impact of 2 and 3 simultaneous stimuli. A sample of 20 students enrolled in the biomedical engineering postgraduate program participated in the study. Apart from the classic self-reported standardized stress measurement, we used Empatica4 wristband sensors, such as photoplethysmography, infrared thermopile, and electrodermal activity, to measure sympathetic nervous system arousal and to derive features related to stress, engagement, and excitement. We also used a 3-axis accelerometer to capture motion-based activity. Specific components registered different results in the background of the overall negative impact of multitasking on text comprehension and recall. The preliminary results showed that multitasking did not impair the accuracy of the retained information, free recall of the text, or retained information from the audio lecture. However, the retention of quantitative data was slightly sensitive to the cognitive load during multitasking when students multitasked between three tasks. This input could help improve real-life intervention in the primary and secondary prevention of stress and burnout for students.

Keywords: multitasking, performance, digital space, higher education, vulnerability.