Why Daydreaming is Good For You
Published: August 31, 2009
Daydreaming is often viewed as a sign of laziness or a lack of seriousness, but a new study says that’s a bad rap. Using a magnetic resonance imaging machine to study brain activity, University of British Columbia neuroscientists found that when a person begins daydreaming, there’s a lot of activity in regions of gray matter dedicated to high-level thought and complex problem-solving, as reported in The Week. “People assume that when the mind wanders away it just gets turned off,” researcher Kalina Christoff tells LiveScience.com. “But we show the opposite, that when it wanders, it turns on.”
The average person spends as much as a third of his or her waking hours in reverie. During that time, we may not be paying attention to the meeting or class we’re in, she says. “But your mind may be taking that time to address more important questions in your life, such as advancing your career or personal relationships.” May you always be blessed with good health.