Why Being Bored Is Good For Us - Time To Do Nothing!

We are probably all tempted to fill all the voids in our lives and avoid boredom at all costs. Ennui is often quickly associated with idleness and laziness, yet it actually has real benefits, so ignore the taboo and learn to be bored.

The importance of allowing yourself to be bored

Boredom is wanting to do something, but not being able to. Throughout history, ennui has always lurked around men, today it has become a terrifying thing that we try to escape by all means. Queues, traffic jams, endless meetings, whenever we’re in these situations we always end up using new technologies to help us fill the void. As a result, we end up missing out on the benefits of our downtime.

What are the 5 hidden benefits of boredom?

Creativity, altruism, intelligence... lethargy has virtues that should not be neglected. So, on the count of 3, let’s start doing nothing! 1, 2, 3...

1. It boosts our creativity

By letting your brain rest, you give free rein to your thoughts and imagination. In fact, boredom would even tend to stimulate our brain. So, in order to create and learn to create, don't keep yourself busy all the time.

2. It pushes you to reach out to others

Doing nothing, letting one's thoughts wander, in short getting bored, pushes one to perform important and meaningful actions. That's how you get the idea to start a new hobby, to get involved in an association and thus to meet new people.

3. It’s good for morale and health

By knowing how to let go of our telephones, computers and so on, we are already learning how to detoxify ourselves from technology. We are stronger, we detach ourselves, and we no longer experience the stress and anxiety inherent when we are unable to check our smartphone. You relax completely, and the icing on the cake is that you'll sleep better!

4. It helps you concentrate on your tasks

By rehabilitating our brain to do only one thing at a time, we learn to concentrate more deeply and for longer. Not like when we split our attention time because of notifications or other distractions.

5. It stretches time

10 minutes spent doing nothing seems a lot longer than 10 minutes in the middle of something. So, getting bored changes our relationship with time. It makes us aware of all the possibilities available to us in a 24-hour day.

- Discover 10 morning routines that take less than 5 minutes. -

What are the causes of boredom?

Boredom has many facets: it can be linked to alcohol consumption, drugs, stress, health problems, dropping out of school, failure, etc. So how do we define boredom? In 2006, experts classified boredom into four categories. To do so, they asked students to describe how they felt when they were bored. This allowed them to define the types of boredom in a two-dimensional model, using arousal and valence criteria. In psychology, valence measures whether a feeling is pleasant (positive valence) or unpleasant (negative valence).

The first type of boredom, or "indifferent" boredom, was characterized by a low state of arousal and a slightly positive valence: the subject is relaxed, tired, but rather happy, indifferent to the outside world. In "calibration boredom", the individual is a little more awake, but their feeling is more negative: their thoughts wander, and they do not know what to do, without actively seeking to do something else. In "search of boredom", the subject is even more awake and their feelings even more negative. The last type of boredom, called "reactive", has the highest levels of arousal and the most negative valence: the individual is highly motivated to leave his or her boredom situation; it is a very unpleasant feeling and the most negative form of boredom.

Why not also check out: 

• So What If I Hate Working?
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