The benefits of daydreaming
Transcript
On a daily basis, you spend between a third and half your waking hours daydreaming.
That may sound like a huge waste of time, but scientists think it must have some purpose, or humans wouldn’t have evolved to do so much of it.
So to figure out what’s going on here, let’s take a closer look at the mind-wanderer in chief: the bored teenager.
Wouldn’t it be cool to discover something, anything.
Like even this plant.
Just to be one of those explorers who sails around drawing stuff for years on end and everyone thinks they’re a genius.
But does anyone even do that anymore?
Is there anything left to discover?
And would I be tough enough to deal with the dysentery or scurvy or piranhas or whatever?
I barely have the endurance to make it through track practice… but I will.
Any day now, I’ll have the discipline to show up before sunrise and practice.
I’ll win all my races.
Winning will become so easy, I’ll pick up other events just for fun.
And once I’m in the Olympics, they’ll have no choice but to crown me team captain, which I will graciously accept.
And will I be nasty to the teammate who yelled at me?
No. I’ll just calmly say, “hope you’re in a better mood.”
Okay.
Yours and other people’s daydreams might sound or feel something like that.
Let’s see what was going on.
To see what parts of the brain are active when you’re doing a task, or thinking, or daydreaming, scientists use brain imaging techniques that show increased blood flow and energy expenditure in those areas.
These brain areas are active, working together and communicating with each other.
Taken together, they’re called the executive network.
When your mind starts to wander, a different set of brain areas becomes active.
These areas make up the default mode network.
The name default mode makes it sound like nothing is going on.
And in fact, for many years, scientists associated this pattern of activity with rest.
But a closer look reveals that these are the brain areas involved when we revisit a memory, when we think about our plans and hopes, and yes, when our minds are wandering off on a wild daydream.
The mind can wander to unproductive or distressing places and brood over negative past events, like an argument.
It can also wander to neutral, everyday matters, like planning out the rest of one’s afternoon.
But where mind-wandering really gets interesting is when it crosses into the realm of free-moving associative thought that you aren’t consciously directing.
This kind of mind-wandering is associated with increases in both ideas and positive emotions, and the evidence suggests that daydreaming can help people envision ways to reach their goals and navigate relationships and social situations.
Scientists think there may be two essential parts to this process: a generative phase of free-flowing ideas and spontaneous thoughts, courtesy of the default mode network, followed by a process of selecting, developing, and pursuing the best ideas from that generative burst, driven by logical thinking thanks to the executive network.
A host of imaging studies suggest that these two networks working in sync is a crucial condition for creative thinking.
Taken together, the evidence clearly suggests the logical realm of the executive network and the imaginative realm of the default mode network are closely related.
And as you can see, the executive network is still playing a role when the default mode network is doing its thing during daydreaming.
In teenagers, the prefrontal cortex and other areas involved in executive function are still developing, but teens are perfectly capable of thinking through their problems and goals, especially when given space to do so on their own.
Vocabulary List
waking
(adjective) happening or done when someone is awake
daydream
(verb) to spend time thinking about pleasant things that are not real
evolve
(verb) to change or develop gradually, especially in a way that makes something better
figure out
(phrasal verb) to understand or explain something that is difficult
wanderer
(noun) a person who travels from place to place without having a home
sail
(verb) to travel on or across an area of water in a boat or ship
scurvy
(noun) a disease that causes weakness, bleeding gums, and tooth loss (caused by a lack of vitamin C)
endurance
(noun) the ability to continue doing something even if it is difficult
crown
(verb) to give someone a title
graciously
(adverb) in a way that is polite and kind
nasty
(adjective) unpleasant
expenditure
(noun) the action of spending or using time, money, energy etc.
wander
(verb) to walk aimlessly without a particular destination
default
(adjective) set automatically or as standard if no other option is chosen
associate
(verb) to connect someone or something with someone or something else in one’s mind
reveal
(verb) to make something known that was previously hidden or secret
distressing
(adjective) causing great anxiety or sadness
brood
(verb) to think about something in a worried or unhappy way
realm
(noun) a general area of knowledge, activity, or thought
associative
(adjective) a general area of knowledge, activity, or thought
consciously
(adverb): in a way that is done with awareness and intention
direct
(verb) to guide or lead someone or something
envision
(verb) to imagine or see something in one’s mind
navigate
(verb) to find one’s way around a place or situation
generative
(adjective) producing or creating something new
courtesy of
(adverb) because of; caused by
a host of
(noun) a large number of people or things
in sync
(adverb) in agreement or harmony with someone or something
Grammar Lesson
In this lesson, we will learn:
-
verb patterns of spend
SPEND
On a daily basis, you spend between a third and half your waking hours daydreaming.
We can use the verb spend with the following patterns:
spend + noun
I only want to spend $10.
spend + noun + on + noun
He spends a lot of money on clothes.
spend + time + with + noun
I spent the weekend with friends.
spend + time + in + noun
I spent the weekend in Bali.
spend + time + at + noun
I spent the weekend at the beach.
spend + time + – ing form
I spent the weekend painting.
I spent the weekend painted. (wrong)
I spent the weekend to paint. (wrong)