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The dark side of daydreaming


Still Waters

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Daydreaming is one of life’s great joys. You can indulge in it when you’re stuck in a boring meeting or a long queue. This seemingly innocuous pastime, however, is a double-edged sword. Some research has found that it boosts creativity, but other studies suggests that it is bad for your mental health and could lower your intelligence.

https://theconversation.com/the-dark-side-of-daydreaming-91340

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I found this part interesting (from the link above).

Researchers at Harvard University used an app to monitor thoughts, feelings and activity of 2,250 adults in the US. They found that daydreaming about pleasant topics added nothing to the participants’ levels of happiness, and when they daydreamed about neutral or negative topics, they became more unhappy. It also appears that a wandering mind causes unhappiness rather than unhappiness leading to a wandering mind.

Positive fantasies about idealized futures sap energy

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Interesting read

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2 hours ago, XenoFish said:

I found this part interesting (from the link above).

Researchers at Harvard University used an app to monitor thoughts, feelings and activity of 2,250 adults in the US. They found that daydreaming about pleasant topics added nothing to the participants’ levels of happiness, and when they daydreamed about neutral or negative topics, they became more unhappy. It also appears that a wandering mind causes unhappiness rather than unhappiness leading to a wandering mind.

Positive fantasies about idealized futures sap energy

One would think that unhappiness would lead to a wandering mind...

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2 hours ago, XenoFish said:

I found this part interesting (from the link above).

Researchers at Harvard University used an app to monitor thoughts, feelings and activity of 2,250 adults in the US. They found that daydreaming about pleasant topics added nothing to the participants’ levels of happiness, and when they daydreamed about neutral or negative topics, they became more unhappy. It also appears that a wandering mind causes unhappiness rather than unhappiness leading to a wandering mind.

Positive fantasies about idealized futures sap energy

I learned how not to daydream because I have to pay attention to everything around me or get injured.

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One of the downsides to daydreaming is that it can get in the way of learning. When people daydream during reading tests, they tend to perform poorly in subsequent comprehension tests. If attention is diverted away from words on the page and directed to the content of the daydream, retrieving information can be seriously affected.

:lol:
I mean seriously... how did they not laugh at themselves when they wrote down this epiphany of a conlusion to research?


So all the times I daydreamed in class back in the day, meant I wasn't focussed on class? Owww snap! That's EXACTLY what I wanted from that situation. I'm glad science finally took its time to prove this.
Wait.. does this prove that concentrating on a taks ... improves the attention and comprehension of that task? Do we need to research this? Seems so "out there".
Cmon...

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14 minutes ago, Render said:

:lol:
I mean seriously... how did they not laugh at themselves when they wrote down this epiphany of a conlusion to research?


So all the times I daydreamed in class back in the day, meant I wasn't focussed on class? Owww snap! That's EXACTLY what I wanted from that situation. I'm glad science finally took its time to prove this.
Wait.. does this prove that concentrating on a taks ... improves the attention and comprehension of that task? Do we need to research this? Seems so "out there".
Cmon...

I have to say. During our matric/ gr 12 year one of my friends didn't listen to the listening comprehension piece and got to day dreaming. When it came to answering the question(complete the piece in your own words) she literally wrote her essay on what she day dreamed.  Literally. Luckily the teacher gave her a re test. Was the weirdest thing I have ever experienced.

* re read my post just now. I am not contradicting anything u say...just sharing my thoughts

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Well now I'm really depressed...

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