You have just won five million yuan in a lottery(彩票抽奖)一how would you spend it? Before you know it, ten minutes has gone on daydreaming. There is a time and a place for daydreaming, but we don't have much control over that. Isn't it worrying that an estimated 30 to 50 percent of our waking time is spent daydreaming? What if your dentist is having that lottery daydream while removing your rotten tooth?
Some studies suggest daydreaming makes us unhappy because we are not focusing on what is around us but are instead thinking about the past or future. However, a recent study published in the journal Neuropsychologia finds that mind-wandering can he of benefit to us. The researchers measured the brain patterns of more than 100 people using an MRI (核磁共振成像) scanner. This data was compared with tests on creative ability and a questionnaire on how much their minds usually wandered. Those whose minds wandered the most scored higher in creative ability tests and had more efficient brain systems measured in the MRI machine.
Being efficient at mind-wandering means you can zone out and then naturally tune back in without missing any important point or step. Christine Godwin, the lead author of the latest study from the Georgia Institute of Technology, says that if you are focusing on difficult tasks, your performance will drop if your mind wanders. But when tasks are easy, people who have high cognitive ability can let their minds wander because it does not affect their performance. You may be thinking about upcoming goals or problem-solving. These are some of the positive sides to mind-wandering.
Mind-wandering can vary between being more practical or more emotional. What mind-wandering seems to be best at, researchers say, is coming up with new solutions to old problems. So, it's not always a waste of time!
