Learn what positive constructive daydreaming is, and why researchers are currently exploring its relationship to brain health.
Were told it keeps us from focusing and takes us out of the present.
Yet research has shown that most of us spend nearly47 percentof our waking hours letting our minds wander.
(Youre not the only one who took a mental vacation to Aruba today.)
Its called positive constructive daydreaming and its a little specific.
Heres what you should know.
neuropsychologist and director of neuropsychology for the Pacific Neuroscience Institute in Santa Monica, California
What is positive constructive daydreaming?
The term was coined by the late psychologist Jerome Singer, who wasdubbedthe father of daydreaming.
This is different than other types of mind-wandering that do not seem to have a beneficial impact.
Rather than rehashing old worries, positive constructive daydreaming involves letting your imagination look ahead playfully.
Its Amazing How Its All Connected.
Research into this is still ongoing, and it hasnt all been hammered out yet.
However, there are a few things that may explain the relationship between daydreaming and reduced cognitive decline.
Daydreaming is similar in many ways to meditating, saysW.
MD, a neurologist and sleep medicine physician with Charlottesville Neurology and Sleep Medicine and host of theSleep Unpluggedpodcast.
neuropsychologist and director of neuropsychology for the Pacific Neuroscience Institute in Santa Monica, California
Researchhas also found that positive constructive daydreaming is linked to a thicker cerebral cortexyour brains gray matter.
On the flipside, thinning gray matter has been linked with the cognitive decline that comes with aging.
A specific web connection in the brainthe default mode networkis active during daydreaming, Dr. Panos says.
But Dr. Panos says that doesnt necessarily mean that daydreaming can help with better cognitive health.
Basically, you oughta have good brain health to make it do positive constructive daydreaming.
But she says that there is already compelling evidence to suggest that it can help with problem-solving.
Taking a break from focused attention on something can enhance learning, she says.
If nothing else, it can help you relax and unwind for sleep.
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