How Daydreaming Can Be Good For You ☁️

Ever caught yourself dreaming about winning the lottery after a long day at work or about running away to own a beachside café? We get you – we do that too!

The thing about daydreaming is that it offers an escape from our daily life, to give us that little time we have to think about the what ifs. Now, what if we told you that it can actually be beneficial to you? Yes, we’d often hear to snap out of that daydream and get back to reality when in fact, daydreaming can be a healthy way to deal with certain situations, kickstart your creativity, and even make you more motivated and inspired!

We’re putting it down here: You can use daydreaming to your advantage. And science shows it too! Not only has daydreaming been shown to reduce stress and anxiety, it also helps with problem solving and enhances creativity – read about it here if you love the science explanation! Also when it comes to achieving goals, that time where your mind wanders off is great for you to set your mind on how and what you want to achieve.

Here are the positive effects of daydreaming:

#1 It helps lessen anxiety
When you daydream, you tune out the “noisy” outside world. Your brain stops thinking about current issues and instead has some downtime which fosters mental relaxation. Scientists call it the alpha wave state, and this is what makes you feel calm and relaxed. The next time you feel stressed out, take 10 minutes off and just think about non-work related things that make you happy – like the home improvement you’re planning to embark on or the holiday you’ve been wanting to plan.

#2 It makes you more creative
The main benefit of daydreaming is in fact creativity. There is a scientific link between daydreaming and increased creativity, and it has been proven to improve problem-solving for non-creative tasks. I often find myself thinking of ideas and the things I want to explore with my YouTube channel while I am doing completely mundane things like folding clothes or going for a swim. I find these times my most creative in terms of coming up with ideas, and oftentimes these ideas materialise into actual doing! Try it for yourself next when you’re doing something that doesn’t require a lot of mental work and see what you can come up with!

#3 It makes you more productive
Not exactly what your mum said about you daydreaming when you were a kid! What’s interesting is the fact that daydreamers who take these breaks to let their mind wander end up being more productive, as shown in a study by Georgia Institute of Technology. This is because when you take these breaks, you are indirectly giving your brain a chance to relax and come back feeling more rejuvenated to take on the next task. The next time you feel overwhelmed, take a daydream break and escape!

#4 It helps you visualise your success
Having your head in the clouds can equate to bringing you closer to success! How’s that, you ask? Since daydreaming makes you more productive and inspired, it helps when you daydream about being successful or achieving something. Think of it as the art of visualisation. We often hear how important it is to visualise your goals – daydream does exactly that for you! In fact, it is something athletes do where they visualise their play by play before an important match. If it works for them, it’ll definitely work for you!

#5 It makes you happy
And that’s the most important thing! A study found that when you daydream, you feel more positive after. Imagine daydreaming about that holiday… you’re likely to feel happy and excited about wanting to make that daydream come true.

The conclusion? Daydream away!

Photo by Jonathan Mabey on Unsplash.