Every day, we perform thousands of actions automatically. It is natural that this is the case, because we would not be able to rationalize even the smallest of activities; However, we also let our minds wander into many actions that require our concentration, we do one thing with another in mind. scattered attention is known as the wandering spirit.
The wandering mind is a type of fuzzy thought that intersects between the specific situation in which we live and the ideas that circulate through our heads, ranging from simple inadoure to total dreaming, this happens when we are a little distracted and dedicated. to daydream.
- “The ability to think about what’s happening is a cognitive achievement that comes at an emotional cost.
- “Matthew Killingsworth.
There are different attitudes towards this phenomenon of hiking, it is proven that the wandering mind has negative consequences, both in intellect and emotions, however, there is also evidence that this daydreaming has positive effects on our well-being.
There is no full consensus on the subject, as we will see below
Researchers Matthew Killingsworth and Daniel Gilbert of Harvard University conducted a study in which the central question was: “What are the great causes of happiness. “
Through an app, they asked thousands of people around the world to answer certain questions over a period of time. Questions arose at any time of the day and had to be answered in real time.
The questions covered three aspects. The first was how the participants felt; the second, what they were doing. And the third, if they thought of anything other than what they were doing.
The results indicate that 47% of participants almost always complete one task, but their minds are elsewhere.
The most striking aspect of the study is that a correlation could be established between the rambling mind and the unhappiness, according to the researchers, when someone walks, what usually comes to mind are unpleasant thoughts.
Those who can concentrate on the present moment are happier and less concerned.
On the other hand, there is a study by the Israeli University of Bar-Ilan, which seems to have reached very different conclusions.
This research involved the application of an electrical stimulus to the frontal lobe, scientists had previously detected that this stimulus caused dreamy states.
At the same time as the stimulus was applied, the researchers asked participants to perform specific tasks and, to general surprise, after the dreaming state, the volunteers carried out the requested activities more efficiently.
According to the researchers, mechanical activities make people easily distracted. On the other hand, he dreams awake, paradoxically, “Wake up? Intellectual activity”.
As a result, the volunteers performed their tasks better after this stimulus took them away from the current context, which they considered tedious.
The two studies may not be contradictory, as they seem at first glance, but both might be right.
The determining factor can be the present consciousness, both in the moments in which concentration is exercised and in the moments in which the mind is left free to wander, that is, the wandering mind can play against us or in our favor, depending how we do it. channel it.
Concentration is an exercise in which the mind is engaged in a specific content, which means that intellectual functions focus on an object at once.
This function is essential to perform certain tasks correctly, especially if they involve a high level of abstraction. As the Harvard study says, if unaffected, there is interference that ends up causing anxiety.
However, if we stayed focused on one point or another all the time, we would probably run out quickly. It has been proven that the mind needs pauses to function properly.
Therefore, the concentration and the rambling mind seem to be complementary and not contradictory. Each of these functions has advantages and disadvantages, depending on the circumstances.