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Today's Daily Health Tip
The Downside of Daydreaming
by Beth Levine     According to a recent study, people spend close to half of their waking hours occupying their thoughts with anything but the task at hand. And, as it turns out, spending time daydreaming does nothing to make us happier individuals.
"A daydream is a meal at which images are eaten. Some of us are gourmets, some gourmands, and a good many take their images precooked out of a can and swallow them down whole, absent-mindedly, and with little relish." ~ W.H. Auden
Everyone lets their mind wander from time to time while sitting at their desk at work, driving a familiar route, or waiting in line at the supermarket. But apparently most of us daydream way more frequently than during the occasional moment of boredom.
According to a recent study, people spend close to half of their waking hours occupying their thoughts with anything but the task at hand. And, as it turns out, spending time daydreaming does nothing to make us happier individuals.
The researchers who conducted the study at Harvard University found that their subjects spent a whopping 46.9% of their time daydreaming throughout the day. Virtually no activity seems to be safe from a wandering mind, either. The only endeavor that came close to commanding participants' full attention was sex, rating a 90 out of 100 on how involved they were in the act. (Gees! And I thought everyone was supposed to think about baseball during sex.) Even other somewhat engaging pursuits such as exercising, having a conversation, listening to music, and taking a walk only kept them in the moment about 70% of the time. Toward the bottom of the list, where our minds seem to wander the most, were such scintillating activities as personal grooming and commuting. (Which explains why so many women find it so easy to combine those activities -- applying makeup while driving.)
More than 2,200 people participated in this research, the data for which was collected through questions sent at random times throughout the day on an iPhone app called Track Your Happiness. They were asked what they were doing at that particular time, how happy they felt, whether they were daydreaming at the moment, and how the daydream made them feel. The subjects were between the ages of 18-88 and lived around the world, although the bulk were American.
Due to the immediate nature of responding to the app's alert, the information generated was current as opposed to something participants had to think about and remember from hours or days earlier. It interrupted them in the middle of a variety of actions to get feedback while they were performing the tasks for a more accurate view of their feelings in the present moment.
Yet even when their minds wandered to happy places, which occurred 42.5% of the time, the participants reported no more happiness than those who were actually engaged in the activity they were undertaking. They did, however, report a greater level of unhappiness when their thoughts strayed to something neutral or negative.
Interestingly, there didn't seem to be any connection between people feeling unhappy and therefore turning to daydreaming. Instead, the evidence pointed to people feeling more unhappy 15 minutes after daydreaming than those who had remained focused on their activity.
Which suggests that maybe we would have a higher level of general satisfaction if we spent more time paying attention to whatever it is we are doing. This is a key tenet to several religions, including Buddhism and Taoism as well as some Native American beliefs. In fact, it was the title for one of the major spiritual books of the early 70's, Be Here Now. It is also a major aspect of meditation. Known as "mindfulness," being in the moment is all about becoming aware of your actions and everything around you -- the exact opposite of daydreaming. Instead of hustling to your car, thinking about how you can get to your office early and get a jump-start on returning some e-mails, you would walk to your car, paying attention to your own breathing and the stride of your steps, noticing the colors of the flowers near the driveway and the dew on the grass. In other words, be in the moment!
Not being in the moment leads to problems. We come home from work and have a fight with our significant other because we're still dwelling on the bad day we had at work. And we had a bad day at work because we screwed up on the job while daydreaming about the fight we had at home. Bad pizza!
A great way to tune into your own mindfulness and dial it up a few notches is to give yoga or tai chi a try. Both are gentle, stress-releasing forms of exercise that work to join the mind and the body. Yoga combines postures and breathing exercises that have been demonstrated to improve your physical and mental well-being. Tai chi consists of gentle, repetitive movements, stances, and breathing that get the body's energy flowing more abundantly and freely. These ancient practices can help you discover your inner focus, remain in the here and now, and keep you feeling healthy and relaxed. Doesn't that sound better than an afternoon wasted getting depressed on daydreams?
Did you know boredom can kill you? To find out more, click here.
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