How to Use Dreams to Ward Off Boredom
Remember when you were a kid in church or a school meeting and allowed yourself to wander, and then the boring event suddenly ended? Daydreaming took us away from where we were physically located, and took us to almost any other place, and made time go (or at least feel like it was going away) faster.
But, when we are adults, when our brain gets a break (or even when it’s not working), our thoughts tend to turn negative – we worry about finances, social injustice, family issues, experiencing a global pandemic – you name it. As Dr. Erin Westgate , professor of psychology at the University of Florida, explains, daydreaming “is part of our cognitive toolbox that is underdeveloped and kind of sad.” Here’s how to re-learn to dream as a way to relieve boredom.
Why is it so hard to dream?
Dreaming – or consciously thinking for pleasure and / or escape from reality – is a skill that requires much more than most people think. “You have to be an actor, director, screenwriter, and viewer of a mental show, “ Westgate says in a statement about his recent study at the University of Florida. “Even if you seem to be doing nothing, it’s exhausting.”
In addition, we do not intuitively know how to think about pleasant thoughts. “We are completely ignorant,” she adds. “We don’t seem to know what to think about in order to have a positive experience.”
How to learn to dream
In a recent study published in the journal Emotion (co-authored with Timothy Wilson, Nicholas Buttrick and Remy Furrer of the University of Virginia, and Daniel Gilbert of Harvard University), Westgate and her colleagues found that daydreaming is an “antidote for boredom,” but people need a little help to get there.
According to the researchers, here’s how to hone a skill:
- Trust that you can have a good experience if you fill your brain with topics that you enjoy. “ This is what each of us can do if you have a concept. We give these instructions to children 4 and 5 years old, and they make sense. “
- However: “It’s hard for everyone. There is no conclusive evidence that some people simply think better. I am the worst person in the world in this regard: I definitely prefer to get an electric shock, ”Westgate said. “But knowing why it can be difficult and what makes it easier really does matter. It is encouraging that we can all get better. “
- Don’t confuse planning with pleasure thoughts. “People say they like planning, but when we check it, they don’t like it.”
- Pick a good time to try it. Research shows that we are more likely to dream when our mind is minimally occupied with something else, such as washing or brushing our teeth. “The next time you walk, instead of taking your phone out, try it,” Westgate says.
The idea here is to come up with a mental list of pleasant thoughts that you can refer to the next time you get bored, instead of reaching for the phone.