We have all been there. The teacher is in the middle of the lecture and suddenly you realize you missed the last fifteen minutes of it. Or perhaps you finish the chapter of a book only to realize that while your eyes were moving over every word, you have no idea what just happened to the characters. Many people will often say daydreaming is bad and distracts from class, other people, or the world around you. However, after doing some research, daydreaming definitely has many positive benefits.
Daydreaming is simply an altered consciousness. Similar to how sleep is, except it happens while we are awake. Daydreaming allows for images, tastes, sounds, and smells to be imagined and even seem as though they are right in front of us. Daydreaming and these senses are often caused when one is zeroing closely in on a specific thought at any point throughout the day. The part of the brain that controls these daydreams is often known as the “default network.” This network is composed of the frontal cortex, the limbic system, and several other cortical systems involved in sensory experiences.
According to ABC Health, “We often discover solutions or better ways of doing things than we would have, had we not had the mind-wandering space.” Daydreaming allows for the imagination to wander and as ABC Health pointed out, it allows us to think about solutions in the free, open space of our brains. Often times our decisions can be very rushed and in the moment, so daydreaming allows us to truly have a chance to think through a situation or problem in a relaxed manner. This could help all of us make more rational decisions that are based on logic and thought.
So, what do most people daydream about? According to the Education Portal, most people daydream about what they want in the future. For some, the future may mean years down the road. For others, the future may mean a college student daydreaming about their upcoming weekend or their plans for after class in an hour. Regardless of the time frame, as humans, our minds wander to a place of what we want to happen. Thinking about it logically, this would make sense. The weeks can be busy and stressful and naturally our minds want to bring us to a place of serenity and happiness where we feel at peace.
It is important to consider though that while daydreaming is caused by the desire to bring your mind to a happy, peaceful place; there are many third variables that can cause one to daydream. These third, or confounding variables, could be lack of sleep, anxiety, or nervousness. Third variables such as these could also cause someone to want to remove their mind from the current situation and wander in topics elsewhere. Regardless of the reason though, daydreaming is the minds way to temporarily escape reality and bring itself to a better state. So, as long as you are not totally missing that whole Econ lecture or ignoring your mom at the dinner table, I would definitely conclude that daydreaming every so often can cause more creative and logical choices in our daily lives.
Work Cited:
http://www.abc.net.au/health/features/stories/2014/05/06/3998712.htm
http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/what-is-daydreaming-in-psychology-definition-disorder-quiz.html
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/fulfillment-any-age/201301/why-and-how-you-daydream
I loved the information in this post. I researched a little more and found out just how beneficial day dreaming can be for mind, body, and spirit.
http://omtimes.com/2013/02/the-relaxed-soul-day-dreaming-can-change-the-world/
When I finished reading this blog, I found myself questioning why daydreams get such a bad rep if they seem to help people in so many different ways. There are a few reasons as to why daydreaming is often frowned down upon but the main reason is that we tend to downgrade anything that is non-scientific because we cannot explain it. So since we cannot make sense of why we daydream, we tend to look at it in a negative way. Another large reason we think daydreaming is bad is because we view daydreaming as being unproductive because we aren’t physically getting anything done. We also don’t tend to tell people our day dreams so there is no external validation which adds to why we view daydreams in a negative way.
http://www.nytimes.com/1996/07/28/nyregion/the-good-and-bad-of-indulging-in-fantasy-and-daydreaming.html
This is a post I can totally relate to since I always catch myself day dreaming! Honestly, I think it’s kind of a stress reliever for myself sometimes by getting my mind off a difficult task, as long as I’m not day dreaming during something extremely important! So I’d definitely see it as a good thing. According to this article it’s seen as a good thing, too! http://sorendreier.com/why-daydreaming-is-good-for-you/