Good news for daydreamers: you are probably extremely smart

During my high school years, I was the great frustration of every teacher. Not because I was rude or turned the class upside down, but because I truly absorbed nothing from the lesson due to my endless daydreams. Daily, I drifted away to a place where I could think quietly about my friends, my future, and my dream job, and I often woke up only when the bell rang. ‘This way, you'll never get anywhere,’ a rightly irritated teacher once said to me. Now, years later, I have discovered that none of that was true. People who daydream a lot are actually much smarter, more creative, and better at solving problems, and there are many more positive effects of daydreaming. Are you following along, Mr. Peters?

Daydreamers are calmer and experience less stress
By shutting out the noisy outside world, your thoughts get the chance to flow freely. This promotes mental relaxation and leads to less stress. When our thoughts can flow freely, our brain is in a mode called the alpha wave. When we are in that alpha zone, we are calm and do not think about things that cause tension. Research shows that we actually need these moments of daydreaming to keep our brain healthy.

Daydreamers have better problem-solving abilities
Daydreaming is the perfect way to come to a solution for a problem. By constantly hammering away at a problem you can't solve, you likely overlook all sorts of helpful things. Research shows that drifting away while searching for solutions is actually very good for us. It leads to new ideas and helps us tackle problems from a less standard perspective.

Daydreamers use more parts of their brain
Yes, could Mr. Peters please pay attention here? What happens in your brain during daydreaming is quite advanced. While it seems to the outside world that you are simply drifting away, different parts of your brain are being used. Both the executive, problem-solving network and the creativity network in your brain are working simultaneously, giving you access to information that was previously out of reach.

Daydreamers reach their goals faster
Research also shows that daydreaming is often triggered by having certain goals. Athletes and artists sometimes deliberately use daydreaming to practice for a competition or performance. This method prepares their brains for success. It is a kind of mental rehearsal for what is to come and proves to be particularly effective in sports psychology. Daydreaming helps you stay motivated because it allows you to think realistically about all possible successful outcomes.

Daydreamers are more creative
Thinking too much and too hard often does not lead to new discoveries. The moment we set an idea or task aside, we come up with creative ideas more quickly. That is also the reason why you often get a good idea when you are in the shower or almost falling asleep. This is because space is created in which new information can reveal itself. Being distracted and letting your mind wander is therefore a powerful tool. Researcher Bianca L. Rodriguez explains that daydreaming is an exercise for your mind and says the following about it: ‘We rarely learn to let our thoughts drift. If you don't drift away from time to time, it's like maintaining just one tree in a gigantic forest. Daydreaming allows your mind to zoom out and see the whole forest, creating a different perspective and inviting creativity.’

And so, that little daydreamer still managed to achieve something.

Source: VeryWell Mind | Image: Netflix