The finger reaches the screen before boredom can even make itself known: a notification, a video, the fridge opened without feeling hungry. Yet that brief annoyance can have a concrete function. Research describes it as a signal that the present activity is no longer able to engage us and that we need to look for another goal, a challenge or simply a few less crowded minutes.
On creativity there are promising results. Regarding memory, however, a distinction is needed: experiments show the benefits of vigilant rest, that is, a quiet pause without new stimuli, which can be pleasant and not necessarily boring. Putting everything in the same drawer makes the story more captivating, but the brain has rather fussy drawers.
Boredom signals that something is no longer enough for us
Boredom does not coincide with the absolute absence of things to do. One of the most used definitions in psychology describes it as the unpleasant experience of wanting to be involved in a satisfying activity without succeeding. We can have dozens of possibilities in front of us and find them all equally incapable of holding us back: the problem concerns attention, the meaning attributed to what we do and the perceived level of stimulation. A review published on explains it Perspectives on Psychological Science.
This unpleasant state can act as a push to abandon a no longer rewarding goal and look for another. A work dedicated to the function of boredom proposes precisely this interpretation: when interest and emotional involvement decrease, attention begins to look for something new.
The direction, however, is not provided with the signal. In a series of experiments, boredom increased participants’ propensity to choose new experiences, including unpleasant ones. It can lead us to start a project, go out for a walk, or call someone; it can also push us towards impulsive purchases, food eaten without hunger and risky behaviors. Boredom opens the door. He doesn’t control who enters.
To exploit it you therefore need to resist the easiest solution for at least a few minutes. Asking yourself what activity might offer meaning, interest, or a solvable challenge is more useful than automatically switching from Instagram to the pantry and from the pantry back to Instagram, in case something has changed in the previous thirty seconds.
Ideas come when attention loosens its grip
The shower, a memorized walk, the dishes to wash: some activities keep the body busy and leave the mind enough freedom to wander. It is the terrain on which that solution that continued to hide at the desk with notable professionalism can appear.
In two experiments conducted on 170 adults, researchers Sandi Mann and Rebekah Cadman asked participants to copy or read telephone numbers for fifteen minutes before undertaking creative thinking exercises. Those who had done the boring tasks generally produced more responses than the control groups. The results on the quality and originality of the ideas were less uniform and varied depending on the task: a detail that prevents us from turning boredom into an automatic machine for producing strokes of genius.
Another study published on Psychological Science observed better results in a creativity exercise after a break occupied by an undemanding activity, capable of promoting the mind wanderingthe spontaneous wandering of thoughts. A more mentally demanding break did not produce the same benefit.
This effect depends on the type of problem, the way the mind wanders and the material already available. Before the walk or shower it may be useful to read, collect data and focus on the question. Then the grip loosens. Without ingredients, even the best mental wandering risks bringing home only the shopping list.
To remember you need a break, not necessarily boredom
After studying, the temptation is to immediately fill the silence: messages, videos, another page, maybe all three at once. Some experiments suggest that a few minutes of vigilant rest can protect newly formed memories from subsequent interference.
In a University of Edinburgh study, participants listened to two stories. After one they remained for ten minutes in a quiet room, with their eyes closed; after another they played to find the differences between some images. The information followed by rest was remembered better even after a week. Similar results were observed with virtual paths and spatial associations.
An experiment conducted on 13 and 14 year olds found an advantage in the retention of some verbal information after eight minutes of rest following learning, especially among those who had achieved lower initial performance. Here too we are talking about precise experimental conditions and limited samples, not about the guarantee that staring at the ceiling transforms every review into an indelible memory.
The hypothesized mechanism concerns consolidation: newly acquired memories are still fragile and a break with few stimuli allows the brain to stabilize them without having to immediately process other material. Boredom may appear during those minutes, but it is not the ingredient measured by the studies. The break yes.
Jumping from one video to another can increase boredom
Leaving space doesn’t require abandoning technology or ten days of spiritual retreat without Wi-Fi. It may be enough to reduce the continuous change of stimulus. In seven experiments with more than 1,200 participants, quickly switching between videos or continuously advancing increased boredom and reduced engagement, satisfaction, and perceived meaning compared to watching without interruption. Even when participants could choose content on YouTube, the results remained similar.
Furthermore, brief and situational boredom must be distinguished from the chronic tendency to be bored and from the intense suffering that some people experience in moments without stimuli. Frequent boredom proneness is associated with psychological distress, impulsivity, and lower life satisfaction, although these studies do not alone establish a cause and effect relationship. No one needs to be told they should be bored better.
For others, a much less ambitious experiment may be sufficient: finishing a chapter and waiting ten minutes before opening an app, walking without headphones, staying in the shower without turning it into a conference room connected to your smartphone. The void could remain empty. Or it might bring back an idea, a decision, or a memory that we were covering up with too much noise.
