The art of boredom in healing your brain

There is an Italian term, il dolce far niente, that calls for intentionally letting go—to prioritise simply being alongside doing. It gives the brain the pause it needs to recharge so that it can be more productive. Yet in today's hyperconnected world, this kind of purposeful idleness has become increasingly difficult to access.

Boredom might just be the rarest experience of our time. In an age where every empty second is instantly filled with a scroll, a swipe, or a screen, the simple act of doing nothing has become almost extinct. We carry endless entertainment everywhere. As a result, many people never access the brain's default mode—the space where thoughts about life's meaning and personal purposes arise—and this could have been fuelling today's mental health crisis.

Neuroscientist Alicia Walf, a researcher at Rensselaer Institute, says it is critical for brain health to let ourselves be bored from time to time as our brain shifts to default. Being bored, the researcher says, improves social connections. Boredom can also foster creative ideas, replenish our work mojo, and provide an incubation period for embryonic work ideas to hatch. Our brain gets a much-needed rest when we are not working it out too hard. Interestingly, famous writers have said their most creative ideas came when they were moving furniture, or taking a shower. These eureka moments are called insights.

This idea aligns with what author Arthur Brooks told Sean Kelly in a podcast: if you were put into an fMRI machine and asked to 'think about nothing,' the parts of the brain that would light up are the same ones involved in contemplating and exploring life's meaning. He added that the problem today is that most young people are not even looking for the meaning. And the reason they are not even looking is they are not in the parts of the brain where they need to be to look. As Brooks puts it, we are using our brains wrong.

So ditch that outdated adage, "An idle mind is the devil's workshop," and alongside your to-do list, create a to-be list: a time when you can be mindfully present. Set aside 10–20 minutes a day where you intentionally will not do anything productive. No phone. No music. Just sit or lie down in nature.

Let your thoughts drift without judgement. Also, next time you are in a waiting room or in a line, do not pull out your phone. Let yourself just exist in that moment. It might feel awkward at first. That is good. Alongside, what you can try is to just sit and stare. Watch the clouds, the ceiling fan, or just a tree. Do not try to think; just let your brain breathe.

Let your mind wander. And sometimes, do not be afraid to do nothing because that is exactly what your brain needs to begin.

Tashrif Arefin came up with this article out of boredom. Email: [email protected]