Few people consider boredom a valid choice. Hardly anyone lets their eyes past the bus window or waits their turn at the doctor’s office doing nothing. Before getting bored, we automatically look at the cellphone screen and catch up on the network. However, science has proven it boredom is good for the brain.

This organ works 24 hours a day, even when we sleep. During sleep it repairs itself from the day’s work, consolidates memory, removes toxins and dreams. But just as the function of the human brain has a great capacity, it also has limitations.

How does it impact us to be always active, connected, and stressed? Why do we never leave room for boredom by forcing new tasks to be done?

Doctor Gabriela Goldsteinpsychoanalyst and president of the Argentine Psychoanalytic Association (APA), disclosed to infobae that boredom negative fame for various reasons: “In adults because it can express a state sadness or depression. Or in this fast-paced and greedy world we live in, lack of stimulation gives off the impression of boredom. And this creates anxiety and news hungrygossip or through the network to distract them ”.

But, the expert explains, boredom isn’t always about that. “Often subjective life, the inner world of every human being, is developed in many ways, from childhood onwards. And it has to do with letting yourself be can feel bored. This feeling is attractive when there is another and certain assurance in the environment, namely, that loneliness is modulated and potentially engendering intimate space think and create. When bored is the possibility of giving space and place for desire, that is creativity”, he commented.

However, he clarified that it “needs a facilitating environment, which is somewhat close and provides a reasonable time to play or have fun. In this sense, boredom becomes the capacity to be alone, but not in solitude and respite from the hyperstimuli of everyday life in order to want to and produce other things. This is a big challenge and different from depressive boredom or loneliness,” he stressed.

For his part, dr. Juan Eduardo TesoneUBA doctor, psychoanalyst and psychiatrist, from the Argentine Psychoanalytic Association (APA) told infobae that the possibility of boredom, both in adults and in children, is important because it allows contact with inner world.

“It’s uncomfortable for parents to spend all the time trying to keep kids from getting bored by suggesting activities or distractions. I think it’s important, exactly, not to let kids go from one screen to another, because it can be addictive”, said the doctor and added: “There are times when boredom can be fruitful, it can be A fruitful experience for a person’s inner life to the extent that it makes them discover themselves and, in some way, contact their desires and projects. Stopping action, stopping, can be useful and fruitful as far as we can contemplate, even if it means getting bored.”

Dr Sandi Mann, Associate Professor of Psychology at Central Lancashire University, UK, says in his book “The Art of Being Bored”: “In today’s information age we are highly connected to technology, and have so many ways to spend our free time that we should not know what boredom feels like. However, boredom seems to increase, and the more stimulation we receive, the more we desire. We lose our ability to tolerate the repetition and routine of everyday life.”

For his part, dr. Harry Campos Cerveraan APA psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, explained to infobae: “Boredom is looking for something interesting and not getting it. In contrast to free time, namely having free time for thought, meditation, introspection or philosophy, as cultivated by the Greeks. The brain is in a state default when there is no external stimulus.

However, we live in a highly connected society, doctors say, and this means that the brain never rests. “Social networks don’t give us time to introspect and think. Being permanently online, on Instagram, Twitter, as young people do (and adults too) is toxic. Right now the feeling that teenagers are afraid of missing something on the network is very serious”, doctors say and recommend “do refreshing the brain tries to generate leisure, meditate, get bored, and manage to disconnect.”

1. It makes us more creative. Moments that may seem boring are a break for the brain and it can generate interesting ideas and solutions. “Boredom can help foster creativity. Many scientists and artists report that they get inspired or solve complex problems when they really stop thinking about them. This ‘eureka moment‘ is called perception (…) It is even known that Archimedes, (Greek physicist, author of the theorem that bears his name), presented his main findings regarding the displacement of water during bathing”, says neuroscientist Alicia Walf, researcher in the Department of Cognitive Sciences at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, he article published in Neuroscience News.

2. Improve social relations. In the study, neuroscientists analyzed brain areas that were activated when performing certain cognitive tasks and when they were doing nothing. They found that when we are busy with thoughts and activities we don’t pay attention to other people, but when we are bored the brain focuses more on engagement and social interaction.

3. Improves brain health in general. “During exciting moments, the brain releases a chemical called dopamine which is associated with feelings of pleasure. When the brain has fallen into a monotonous and predictable pattern, many people feel bored, even depressed. This could be because we have lower levels of dopamine. One approach is to retrain the brain to actually enjoy these less enjoyable and possibly boring moments. Try boredom and see what comes to your mind,” said Walf.

Researchers at Washington State University have shown in a Study that the way people deal with or manage boredom is important for mental health. They observed that the people who suffered the most were those for whom boredom gave rise to anxiety. However, those who dealt positively with boredom and found a book, made a shopping list, or thought about what to make for dinner reduced their stress levels and improved their mood.

4. Make us more productive. “Comfort is positive when life plans or projects are generated, and when possible changes that enable spiritual, academic, professional, and family growth are analyzed,” he explained to infobae In a recent note, neurologist Juan Alberto Ollari (MN 56663), head of the Center for Cognitive Neurology at Hospital England and head of Borda Hospital Services.

5. Help determine our goals. When a person’s mind wanders without paying attention to what’s going on around them, they are more likely to think about the future, plan, and anticipate their next destination.

6. Help self-reflection. Sandi Mann also states in his book that when we are very busy, we rarely stop to reflect on our skills and projects. “Only when bored do we have time for introspection,” he said.

7. It can be a fundamental factor for happiness. Author Sandi Mann argues that the positive side of boredom can be a catalyst for humor, fun, reflection, creativity, and inspiration, and that the solution to the “boredom problem” is to enhance rather than prevent it: time away from constant stimulation can enrich our lives, so we must accept boredom and value down time positively,” he advises in his book.

Keep reading: