The Open Road
Many artists and scientists have used daydreams, or dreams, for inspiration. Mozart, for instance, composed music while daydreaming. “It is on such occasions that my ideas flow best and most abundantly,” he explained, “in a pleasing, lively dream.” The physicist Niels Bohr, who used his reveries to solve problems, said the discovery of the atom was inspired by a dream. Could daydreams perhaps be a pathway to creativity?
Eric Klinger — a University of Minnesota psychologist, who has spent decades studying daydreams — believes that daydreams have multiple purposes. Mainly, they remind us of our other competing goals while we are busy doing something else. Daydreams are not necessarily a sign of scattered thought, but rather a way to get organized. Daydreaming offers a chance to reflect, resolve personal dilemmas, and explore life’s possibilities.
In a study, Kane and his colleague Jennifer McVay gave 72 students Palm Pilots, to carry around for a week, which beeped randomly eight times a day. People were asked to state whether they were zoning out whenever the device went off and to record their thoughts. Participants caught themselves daydreaming about 30 percent of the time, often reporting personal concerns.
“Much of our mind-wandering is focused on future-oriented and goal-oriented topics,” Kane wrote in an email. Clearly, a distraction may interfere with the task at hand. That may not always be bad, though. “Mind-wandering is often useful in making progress toward our goals,” observes Kane. “It may be much more useful to think through an ongoing life problem.” It keeps our eyes on our other plans and hopes.
Daydreaming may also produce insights, according to Thomas Ormerod, a professor of psychology at Lancaster University. Working with lead author Ut Na Sio, Ormerod conducted a meta-analysis of mind-wandering studies. They discovered that not only did daydreaming lead to insight and foster creative problem-solving, performing a simple activity was better than doing nothing at all. It was also more productive than engaging in a complex mental challenge.
“If you are focused on the task, you focus on the familiar,” explains Ormerod. Daydreaming shifts your attention away from something that blocks thinking. If you are stuck on something, it may be better to move your focus. This is especially true for more creative tasks, such as imagining all the possible uses for an everyday object like a brick. Daydreaming may also make us more receptive to ideas surfacing from our subconscious. When we allow our minds to roam, we can break the usual associations and connect seemingly unrelated ideas in new ways.
There may be another benefit as well. The neuroscientist Moshe Bar, a professor at Harvard Medical School, believes that daydreaming generates memories of experiences that we’ve never had; memories which prepare us to respond to a particular moment — if and when it comes. Other research suggests that actively imagining future events can be beneficial. Studies have shown that visualization techniques, for instance, can relax patients and ease discomfort during medical procedures. Replaying a film in our heads of various scenarios, for example, can help us face a tough challenge.
Purposeful Work
Deliberately switching off may be especially important in the digital age. Contemporary life tends to emphasize productivity and efficiency. There is often little space in our busy schedules for daydreaming.
Emptying our minds and letting our thoughts wander may actually be productive. “When you stop thinking about the wrong things, you may start thinking about the right thing,” says Ormerod. Not all daydreams are constructive, though. The key is to be aware of when you are zoning out. People who know that their minds are wandering seem to come up with more creative ideas.
Paying attention to the content of your daydreams may also enhance creativity. Daydreaming may not solve every creative dilemma — yet it can allow you to explore your imagination. As Ormerod puts it, “You can see things with a ‘fresh set of eyes.’ ”
This article is updated from its initial publication in Brain World Magazine’s print edition.
