With so much attention on the benefits of mindfulness, daydreaming would seem to be its polar opposite. But there’s evidence to show that being lost in thought also has advantages and that these states are complementary, with both benefiting an individual’s overall mental clarity and efficiency.
Mindfulness is a calm attentiveness, noticing thoughts, memories or feelings arise without judgment. Daydreaming on the other hand is zoning out and drifting into whatever arises. It’s often followed by being snapped back into reality with a little shake of the head to get back on track and wondering how much time has been wasted while drifting off.
Both offer time for the mind to rest, but while mindfulness is a practice of being in a non-judgmental state, daydreams’ recoil back to reality can bring judgment with it. A 2018 study showed higher brain activity in the regions of judgment and evaluation, when in a mind-wandering state, but also found that it ”facilitates insight, creative problem solving, cognitive control and prospection of future outcomes.”
Mindfulness too has science-backed evidence to prove how it increases the brain’s wiring towards meta awareness and refined mental control. This non-judgemental awareness is the powerboost to harness our daydream information, unlocking it with rapid discernment and clarity.
To put the two together, when our minds drift into daydreaming, a practiced mind can gather chosen information and harness these blips of creative insights for future benefit, planning and positive outcome.
The mind is a strange and powerful thing. It’s the tool to open us up or turn us away from our potential. The most efficient way to optimize this potential is to take the nice route, follow the open-minded road to where curiosity and kindness live and say, ‘Hmm, what can I do with this information?”
Have you ever solved a problem or found a solution after a good zone-out? I sure have.
Hey, it was internet daydreaming that had me stumble on this study. And now we have a short summary of its advantages.