What is mind wandering and why we should care

Every day we carry out thousands of actions automatically. It is natural that this is the case because we could not be rationalizing even the smallest activity. However, also in many of the actions that require focus, we let our minds wander. We are doing one thing and thinking about another. This scattered attention is known as mind wandering.

The wandering mind is that type of diffuse thinking that stands between the specific situation we are experiencing and the ideas that circulate through our heads. It ranges from simple unfocused attention to frank daydreaming. It occurs when we are somewhat distracted and when we engage in daydreaming.

There are different positions regarding this phenomenon of digression. There is evidence that mind wandering generates negative consequences, both on the intellect and on the emotions.. However, there is also evidence that daydreaming has positive effects on our well-being. There is no total agreement on this. Let’s see.

A study on the wandering mind

Researchers Matthew Killingsworth and Daniel Gilbert, from Harvard University, carried out a study in which the question The central question was: “What are the great causes of happiness?” Through an application, they asked thousands of people around the world to answer questions over a period of time. At any time of the day these questions would be asked and they had to respond in real time.

The questions were basically related to three aspects. The first, how they felt. The second, what were they doing. And the third, if they were thinking about something different from what they were doing. The results indicated that 47% of those investigated were almost always performing a task, but had their mind elsewhere.

The most shocking thing about the study is that a correlation could be established between this wandering mind and unhappiness. In the opinion of the researchers, When someone rambles, what comes to their head are usually thoughts unpleasant. Those who can focus on the present moment are happier and feel less worried.

The advantages of mind wandering

In contrast to the above, There is a study carried out at the Bar Ilán University from Israel, in which there seem to be very different conclusions. In this case what was done was to apply an electrical stimulus to the frontal lobe. Scientists had previously detected that this stimulus caused dream states.

At the same time as the stimulus was applied, participants were asked to perform specific tasks. To everyone’s surprise, After the dream state, the volunteers carried out the requested activities with greater efficiency.

In the opinion of the researchers, mechanical activities lead people to be easily distracted. Instead, daydreams, paradoxically, “awaken” intellectual activity. That is why the volunteers performed their tasks better after that stimulus that took them out of the present context, which they found boring.

And then?

Perhaps the two studies are not contradictory to each other, as they seem at first glance. Both could be right. Perhaps the determining factor is present awareness, both in the moments in which concentration is exercised, and in those in which the mind is left free to wander. In other words, the wandering mind can work for or against you, depending on the way you channel it.

Concentration is an exercise through which the mind is applied to a specific content. It means that intellectual functions are focused on a specific object. This function is essential to properly perform some tasks, especially if they involve a high level of abstraction. As the Harvard study says, if this is not achieved, interference appears that ends up generating concern.

However, if we stayed focused on one point or the other all the time, we could easily become exhausted. It is proven that the mind needs repeated breaks for it to function properly.. So, either we make these pauses deliberately, or the mind does it on its own, distracting itself. Therefore, concentration and mind wandering appear to be complementary and not contradictory. Each of these functions contributes and subtracts, depending on the circumstances.

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