Boredom is good for brain health; understand – 05/21/2023 – Balance

If someone invites you to simply sit down and do nothing, you will surely remember the long list of pending tasks waiting for you or you will think of something better to do.

The feeling that the day doesn’t have enough hours to deal with all the unread emails, resolve pending issues at work or dedicate yourself to the family is commonplace.

Added to this is the fact that, when we are not trying to cope with these tasks, we take out our cell phones to read something online or respond to comments on social networks, in a continuous search for entertainment.

Few people think of boredom as a valid option. But according to neuroscientists, boredom, despite its bad reputation, can increase our creativity, our commitment to tasks and our productivity at work.

A famous experiment, published in the journal Science, even showed that there are people who would rather take a mild electric shock than be alone with their thoughts.

In the experiment, researchers asked a group to sit quietly for 15 minutes in a room with nothing to do. Alternatively, his only option was to press a button and receive an electric shock.

Having an electrical shock is unpleasant, but many people, especially males, would rather get the shock than be deprived of external sensory stimuli.

Of the 42 participants, nearly half decided to press the button at least once, even though they had been shocked before. And one of the participants received the shock 190 times.

“Most people would apparently rather do anything than do nothing, even if it’s negative,” the researchers wrote in the study.

always active

The human brain works 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Even when we are asleep, the brain is always awake.

It listens, detects and manages stressors to keep us safe and sound. It keeps looking for solutions, making decisions and thinking about possibilities even when we are not aware of its activity.

This “always on” organ is so dedicated that it never rests or takes a vacation. But neuroscientists say it also has its limits.

Sleeping is one of the brain’s ways of cleaning up after a full day, but it keeps working. And boredom is also important for your health.

In Italy, people are very clear about this. The expression “il dolce far niente” (the sweetness of doing nothing, in Portuguese) is part of the country’s culture, where rest, the pleasure of doing nothing, is part of life.

It’s not about taking a siesta, but something deeper. It is about leaving aside the rhythm of everyday life and dedicating a moment to introspection, relaxation and awareness of living in the present moment.

Awakens the creativity

Neuroscientist Alicia Walf, a researcher at the Department of Cognitive Sciences at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, in the United States, says that it is fundamental for brain health to allow yourself to be bored from time to time.

“Boredom improves social connections. Social neuroscientists have concluded that the brain has a default mode network that is activated when we stop doing things. for embryonic work ideas to emerge”, explained Walf to Forbes magazine.

“In those moments that can seem boring, empty and unnecessary, the strategies and solutions that were there all along in embryonic form come to life. And the brain gets a much-needed rest when we don’t make it work too hard.”

“Some famous writers have claimed that their most creative ideas come when they’re moving furniture, taking a shower or pulling weeds. We call these moments of inspiration ‘insights,'” she added.

In a study published in the American journal Academy of Management Discoveries in 2019, researchers made a group of people bored with instructions to sort beans by color. Another group was entrusted with a much more interesting task.

Then they were asked to come up with good excuses to justify their delay. The bored group did better, both in terms of ideas and creativity, as judged by an outgroup.

On the other hand, the British psychologist Sandi Mann argues in the book “The Science of Boredom” (The science of boredom, in free translation) that boredom “can be a powerful, motivating force that inspires creativity, thinking and intelligent reflections”.

“We’re bored because we have so much stimulation, so we need more and more stimulation to avoid boredom. It’s a vicious circle,” she warns.

Mann has been researching boredom for 20 years and, for her, it is an image problem. Understanding exactly what boredom is can help you look at it more positively.

“It’s an emotion, basically an unmet search for brain stimuli,” she explains to the BBC.

“If you’re looking for something that attracts you and you can’t find it, that frustration is called boredom.”

“The good thing about embracing boredom is that you don’t actually have to do much.”

Mann advises parents to let their kids get bored.

“Let them learn how to deal with boredom and how to get out of it. That way they will break free into a world of creativity.”

The American Child Mind Institute also points out that boredom is good for children.

“Learning to deal with boredom adjusts children to acquire flexibility, planning capacity and problem solving”, says the institute.

improves attention

In the same way that sleep is an important and productive time for the brain, downtime is also vital for our mind and well-being.

“Idleness is not just a vacation, an indulgence or an addiction. It is as indispensable to the brain as vitamin D is to the body – and, deprived of it, we suffer a mental affliction as disfiguring as rickets,” he said. American writer and illustrator Tim Kreider in the article “The Busy Trap”, published in The New York Times.

The American magazine Scientific American also published a long article summarizing the benefits of downtime.

“Downtime replenishes the brain’s reserves of attention and motivation, encourages productivity and creativity, and is essential for achieving our highest levels of performance and simply forming stable memories in everyday life,” the article says.

We can think of downtime, boredom, or idleness as a mind cleanse: a way to free our minds from cognitive congestion that has built up over time. So the point is not so much that we need to let ourselves be bored – but rather that we need time that is empty, or less full of things.

An article from the specialist publication Psychology Today points out that too much information can reduce attention span.

“So rest can be a valuable opportunity to help our overworked brains relax and relieve stress. Removing yourself from social media and other stressors long enough to cause boredom has benefits,” says Professor Shahram Heshmat, from the University of Illinois in the United States.

For the expert, “boredom can improve our mental health. In this age of information, our brains are overloaded with data and distractions. The abundance of information translates into a lack of attention.”

“Attention utilizes people’s limited cognitive resources for productive activities,” explains Heshmat.

Good for mental health

Daydreaming can be “a complete respite” and provide a brief escape from everyday life, as Mann puts it in her book.

Several studies have already shown, for example, that modern tools such as email, social networks and dating apps can challenge mental health. Therefore, resting can be a valuable opportunity to recharge your batteries.

That’s why many experts, like Mann, define boredom as a protective reaction that allows us to disconnect from the information and noise that constantly haunt us.

“As adults, we live in a world where we are constantly bombarded with so much information that we wouldn’t be able to cope without ‘getting used to’ much of it,” says Mann.

“So we get used to the radio, the unwanted messages, the warnings on cereal boxes, etc., all to free our minds and not have to think about it,” she says.

“Being bored with things frees your brain to focus on those aspects of life that require more careful consideration. So, long live boredom!”

“Considering these benefits, we should embrace boredom rather than seeking an immediate exit,” adds Shahram Heshmat.

“We should also allow our minds to wander, as boredom can be an opportunity to reflect on what we want in life.”

So now you know: it’s important to cultivate boredom, that pleasure of doing nothing, and know how to appreciate it.

Nothing better than putting it into practice il dolce far niente.

This text was published here