Boredom's link to mental illnesses, brain injuries and dysfunctional behaviors
Meeri Kim, The Washington Post
July 17, 2021
FacebookTwitterEmail
Dead spots in your Wi-Fi network got you down? It doesn't have to be this way.Hiep Vu, Contributor / Getty Images
In 2014, psychologists at the University of Virginia conducted a simple experiment to showcase the power of the human mind. They placed subjects in a room by themselves with no distractions for roughly 10 minutes, letting them be alone with their thoughts. Given the infinite possibilities that our imaginations hold, it aimed to promote the sheer pleasures we can derive from just thinking.
"We thought this would be great. People are so busy that it would give them a chance to slow down, sit quietly and daydream for a few minutes," said Erin Westgate, a young graduate student at the time. "So we started running these studies, and they were complete failures."