Health: Daydream Believer – the Good News about “Lost in Thought”

 By: Tracy Nesdoly

“You’re daydreaming!” isn’t exactly a positive message.

Get caught staring into space on the job and your boss will say you’re unproductive; daydreaming at the dinner table may well initiate that “you never listen to me” argument. Hold your ground – as it turns out, giving your active brain a rest can inspire creativity and more productive thought, and can even help you get along better with people.

You’re going to do it anyway – psychologists estimate we daydream for one-third to one-half of our waking hours, though a single daydream lasts only a matter of moments.

At their best, daydreams allow you “a range of possibilities which, in the hard cold light of reality, aren’t possible,” psychiatrist Stuart Twemlow reported on WebMD, a medical website. Other recent research has also shown that daydreaming, much like nighttime dreaming, allows the brain to consolidate learning.

Specifically, daydreaming helps you:

Relax. Daydreaming is like a mini-vacation, and works to release tension and anxiety. It is also really useful for managing fears and phobias – rehearse what you need to do, visualize it in your mind’s eye, and you’ll feel stronger in the real world. Athletes use this kind of visualization as well, to stay on top of their games.

Get along well with others. This is similar to visualization to manage fears. When you find yourself continually in conflict with someone, review a situation you were embroiled in and imagine responding differently. Play out a few different options. You’ll naturally figure out a better way to deal.

Keep the home fires burning. According to James Honeycutt, PhD, author of Imagined Interactions: Daydreaming about Communication, happy couples think about each other during the day, which further underscores the feeling of strength in the relationship. But it can also work in reverse. “Unhappy couples daydream about arguments and ruminate about conflict,” he says.

Boost productivity. Taking a few minutes to let your thoughts run free helps adjust your mood to “positive”. Besides that, taking a wee break from your tasks is refreshing and boosts energy.

Achieve goals. Athletes and performers imagine themselves performing successfully, and then, more often than not, they do. Studies have shown that those that those athletes who use visualization outperform those who use practice alone.

Be creative. Virtually no great company was started and no great idea was hatched without the freedom to think “what if”. It probably seems fairly obvious that artists and other creative types spend time daydreaming or letting their thoughts roam free. However, even scientists and mathematicians say their new ideas often spring from daydreams. Didn’t Albert Einstein say that his theory of relativity came about by trying to imagine angels dancing on the head of a pin?

So, go ahead. Take a few minutes to put your head in the clouds. The rest of your day will seem a lot better for it.