At one point, you most likely spent time daydreaming about having your own business – what would it be like, what would you do. However, once your business came into being your were consumed with strategic planning, decision-making, and focused on the myriad of tasks at hand.
For a long time, daydreaming was ridiculed as a frivolous waste of time. Freud considered it infantile expression and fantasy “wish-fulfillment.” Others viewed it as taking on fantasy personas like Walter Mitty or a means of escapism from the world of here and now.
Eventually, brain research discovered actual beneficial aspects.
What happens when your brain is daydreaming?
Daydreaming is a normal brain function generally described as an altered state of consciousness.
There is no loss of conscious awareness. Rather, there’s a shift of awareness to unrelated inner thoughts and images.
It’s also a time when brain activity switches to a default mode where other brain parts run the show. Mental focus and concentration are no longer activated or the brain acts to avoid the intensity of on going stress and pressure.
Daydreaming is also very fluid. It’s easy for the brain to move back and forth between its altered state and back into alert consciousness in a blink of an eye. But, of course, there are some who get lost in the altered state and this can lead to pathological dissociation.
Working Memory
Researchers from the University of Wisconsin, Madison and others found that participants performing mundane tasks, who admitted to letting their mind wander during the process, had a greater amount of working memory. Their brain performance was actually greater than those who paid more attention to what they were doing.
More working memory allows your brain to better allocate its resources. Click To TweetAccording to Jonathan Smallwood, of the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Science, more working memory allows your brain to better allocate its resources. Daydreaming during mundane daily activities (e.g. a morning shower) lets in other thoughts about planning future activities, rehearsing what you will say, thinking about a problem or imagining how things would be different if … .
Having more working memory infers a greater ability to focus and concentrate on important activities. Lower working memory suggests losing focus and mentally drifting off and not remembering. For example, when we’re reading and after a few pages we can’t recall what we’ve read.
Working memory can also operate under the radar. You may be daydreaming and don’t seem to be thinking about anything at all. In the meantime, your brain is busily engaged in problem solving and creative thinking that will eventually reach your conscious awareness.
The Business Benefits of Daydreaming
If it should happen that during your business day your mind wanders off, know that your brain is acting to enhance your business by:
- increasing the quality of your working memory
- giving your brain a break from the daily stress and pressure of business
- activating your brain default mode for better problem solving and creative thinking skills
- enhancing your focus and concentration when needed for the important “stuff”
- getting you through the boring and routine parts without depleting your brain resources
Where does your mind wander?
Sources:
http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/03/19/daydreaming-is-good-for-mind/
http://www.newyorker.com/tech/frontal-cortex/the-virtues-of-daydreaming
http://www.medicaldaily.com/maladaptive-daydreaming-what-it-247629
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/07/130716-daydreaming-science-health-brain/
http://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-daydreaming-in-psychology-definition-disorder-quiz.html
Image: Pixabay 908345
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I love this topic. We all have astounding potential waiting to be tapped and it is not about genetic mental superiority or the luck of the draw. Our brain steadily streams images, thoughts, and impressions—which are seemingly random and often distracting; however, they contain brilliant insights and innovative solutions and can lead to rapid learning and super brain power when we turn “daydreams” to big ideas and solutions.
You’re absolutely right on all counts Rachel!
Hi Joyce 🙂
Did not realize how beneficial daydreaming is for our business 🙂 The more quiet it is the more that I “daydream” and things do actually become clearer.
Great share!
It’s funny about how many things we were told that are a waste of time, turn out to be so valuable. Enjoy your daydreaming.
Wonderful topic Joyce! I am a believer in daydreaming, in fact, I’ve come up with some of my best ideas while day dreaming. If I’m stuck on a problem or a project instead of forcing myself to keep thinking about it, I walk away and either go for a walk, unplug for awhile and (re)read a chapter from one of my favorite books, or just sit out on my deck and let my mind wander. It never ceases to amaze me how letting go and allowing my brain to do its thing provides clarity – and more often than not – answers. Thanks for sharing the science behind this process and for the inspiration!
Great to hear you’ve found this so beneficial and how it works for you. There are still a lot of naysayers out there, but science is proving them wrong. We still have a lot to learn from daydreaming – both about how it works and how we can better use it. In the meantime, we’ll all just have to daydream on. Thanks for sharing your experiences Marquita
Wow, Joyce, I had no idea how beneficial the daydreaming is! I love daydreaming, especially when I am outside in the nature. These are my most creative moments. Thank you fro sharing this wisdom with us!
That’s great to hear that you’re able to daydream out in nature. A perfect place for quiet, fresh air and natural light to stimulate the brain cells to wander off on their own.
I have found that some of my best ideas come when I relax my mind and dream a little bit. NIce to know there are things that back this up.
Well, now you can dream all you want Christy, without any worry that you’re wasting your time. Enjoy.
There’s a reason why you feel relief when you let your mind wander a bit! You can trust that relief and know that a break is working for you.
You’re absolutely right Jane. Relief is only a mind wander away.
Ah, I am such a believer and encourager of daydreaming! When we can conjure up thoughts, feelings and images of the ‘what if’s’ – well the brain gets to work on the how…and the universe gets to work on the seemingly ‘out of the blue’ circumstances to bring it all together!! And you have give all the other great reasons that it is helpful to give the brain a rest in between focusing on the reality of the dream! Good stuff, thanks!
Glad to hear that you are a big supporter of daydreaming Teresa. For the longest time, people weren’t aware of how important daydreaming is for creativity. The world could certainly do with more daydreamers.
My mind doesn’t wander at work (I teach art to people with disabilities so I need to stay focused) so I guess it most often happens when I’m doing housework. I found this article really interesting as the trend is all about mindfulness and being focused on what you’re doing. It’s great to know that allowing your mind to wander can actually be a good thing.
Tamuria, you bring up an interesting contrast. The importance of mindfulness and the value of daydreaming. Maybe for folks like yourself who have to really focus in their jobs, there actually needs time to be set aside for daydreaming. Thanks for making me see this in a different perspective.
This altered state concept is interesting. I would be interested in what happens to the amount of working memory to people doing mundane tasks while music was playing. Also, I wonder if they would daydream more or less during mundane tasks while music was playing.
There’s a lot of research about music and the brain. There’s correlations between classical music, especially that of Mozart stimulating the brain’s neurons. Music can also have a hypnotic effect, as well as, encouraging daydreaming. The quality of performance can be affected, but it really comes down to the type of music or the use of sound at different hertz vibrations
Just love the education I am getting about our brain. In the past, most approaches were so scientific I lost interest, but you write in a way that I can engage with. I often find my mind thinking of ideas and most creative ones while driving. I write poems in my head and rush to get things down on paper. Titles of topics for my next blog pop up while doing something else. I never thought I was much of a daydreamer, probably because I always worked multiple jobs, but my bus or train rides my brain was daydreaming with ideas, thoughts, visuals. It all explains how it is I am so productive. Thanks.
Give yourself a pat on the back, Roz. That’s one creative and productive brain you’ve got going there.
Where does my mind wander? Oh, my! Let’s say that mostly I start envisioning the life I want.
It’s fascinating where the brain will go. Projecting into the future the kind of life you want is alerting the brain to pay attention to those things that can bring you that life. It’s like that old expression of people waiting for their ship to come in, but they are standing on the dock and looking in the wrong direction.
Great post. I do notice that my mind wondered sometimes so I need to get up and do something physical to help me refocus. Thanks for sharing.
Interrupting with something physical can help the brain to refocus and it’s also a healthy thing to do to get up and move around. But, if your mind should wander off for a few seconds, that’s a good thing too.
As an air sign with 5 other planets in air, my mind is constantly wandering the cosmos and bringing ideas back to earth. I often have simultaneous streams going at the same time…if that is even possible. I recently came across an older New York Times article about indulging in daydreaming and fantasy that you may enjoy. http://www.nytimes.com/1996/07/28/nyregion/the-good-and-bad-of-indulging-in-fantasy-and-daydreaming.html?pagewanted=all Apparently they are quite different. It’s great to hear that daydreaming actually increases the quality of your working memory. Maybe that’s why I have such an astute ability to remember so much. 🙂 Thanks for another great post, Joyce!
Beverley looks like daydreaming has served your working memory well, and obviously, you have a lot of good things going on in that brain of yours! I greatly appreciate the reference to the New York Times interview with Dr. Person. Because of the increase in brain research, we are getting a better understanding of the functional aspects, but it’s not the entire story. The psychological interpretations also tell us things about the brain that can’t be measured. If you look at both the functional and psychological together, it gives you a more in-depth understanding of our mental expression. I try to write about the beneficial aspects of the brain that can help to improve or increase performance. People can get a little wonky if you start becoming too technical. Thanks again for your comments and support.
I know this to be oh-so true in writing fiction, Joyce! It’s that seemingly “off” time that allows creativity to soar. Just love when science backs it up! Thank you1
As an author, you are ahead of us all. You can daydream all you want and tell people, who question what you are doing, that you are working on character and plot development. Bravo!
Oh, this is great to read! I’m always (and I mean always) daydreaming. There’s a completely different world in my mind, now I can tell people that that’s actually a good thing:) thanks for sharing, it’s very interesting:)
Laura, science is on your side. Go forth and daydream. Enjoy the experience. Then come back and be ready to be creative. Best mini-vacation your brain can go on.
Great post, Joyce. I love that science supports a little mind wandering. Whenever I’m stuck, wrestling with a project, or don’t know which direction to move in, I try to go for a walk or hop on my bike. Then my mind checks out for a bit and suddenly the world seems clear again. Glad to know I’m on the right path!
You’re definitely on the right path Deb. Whether you do something physical or mental like daydreaming, you’re giving your brain’s buffer system a chance to clear.