Why Boredom is Good for You (But It’s Still Boring)

What the science of boredom can tell us about how we spend our time

I’ve been bored lately. Some days, after ticking off tasks from my to-do list, I find myself restless. It seems that doing anything at all is better than doing nothing. On one of many long days at home, I started to learn about boredom.

Over the centuries, philosophers have developed different ways of thinking about boredom, but scientific studies on the subject are less plentiful.

Who would have thought that scientists don’t find boredom exciting?

If you’ve found yourself thinking time has changed pace this year, there is research to explain why. For those of us who have spent significant amounts of time at home, the repetition of daily tasks can impact the production of memories.

As one day blurs into the next in a continuum of Netflix and baking, with few remarkable events to mark the passing of time, the brain simply doesn’t store many moments. Days are long, but months zoom by in a glimpse.

In a world ruled by productivity and performance, it’s not a surprise that some of us struggle with boredom. Devices are always at an arm’s length with endless distractions, notifications and information overload, ready to drag us down a rabbit hole of scrolling.

What is Boredom?

Boredom, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, is

“The state of being weary and restless through lack of interest”

It is a common misconception that having the world’s knowledge and information at your fingertips at all times would make this ‘lack of interest’ a thing of the past: we have access to a never-ending supply of podcasts, series, social media, games and countless other potential sources of entertainment. Yet that is not enough. Research suggests that checking a smartphone while bored at work doesn’t make people less bored.

The concept of ‘phone boredom’ describes the feeling of disengagement we experience when scrolling away, spending time mindlessly browsing the same apps. You may even be experiencing it right now!

It is easy to assign boredom to spending too much time at home, the state of the world, an unfulfilling job. But being bored is not driven by external factors, it’s a state of mind. The external environment may well make things worse, but it is possible to feel bored or entertained in pretty much the same situation. Because it is driven by our state of mind, when we’re bored, we look around and nothing seems fun.

Boredom is Uncomfortable

Boredom is not pleasant, and it even affects motivation. Bored people feel more tired after performing a simple task than those who are not, despite being overall less productive.

But boredom goes deeper. Some may even seek negative emotions rather than accept being bored. In a famous study, many participants chose to give themselves an electric shock rather than stay in a room quietly for 15 minutes. Sometimes, even physical pain seems preferable to boredom.

This may seem like an extreme example, but everyone avoids boredom in different ways: checking our phones, tidying up a room that isn’t messy, shopping, or adding things to our to-do list.

And it doesn’t just affect ourselves. Boredom is linked to errors in medical settings, driving, flying planes and ever nuclear monitoring! A work environment which is not engaging leads to mistakes. Depending on the line of work, the consequences are significant.

Boredom is a natural emotion, but it’s also uncomfortable. And it is exactly this level of unease which makes boredom good for us.

Could Boredom Help Us See Things Clearly?

German philosopher Martin Heidegger preoccupied himself with the idea of boredom. To him, the discomfort of being bored is why being bored is a good thing.

According to Heidegger, boredom can help us better understand our very existence. When we’re bored, we can truly appreciate the passing of time without any illusions. By removing distractions, boredom creates the space for us to fully contemplate emptiness and nothingness, getting a real glimpse of things as they are.

Let’s not forget that Heidegger was an existentialist philosopher, and probably more interested in observing nothingness than most. Still, the idea that boredom allows us to see things more clearly, discouraging us to focus on the next distraction that happens to get our attention remains very relevant.

Contemplating the Experience of Being Bored

Those who have explored the theme of mindfulness have also been interested in idleness: boredom and a contemplation practice fit naturally together. Jon Kabat-Zinn, famous for popularising meditation in the West, said:

“When you pay attention to boredom it gets unbelievably interesting”

Many mindfulness practices start with paying attention to something small, like focusing on the breath, parts of the body or ambient sounds. Over time, this practice of loose focus expands, teaching meditation practitioners to observe, without interference, different situations in life.

This doesn’t mean that those who practice mindfulness don’t get bored. But it is possible to observe and embrace boredom as one of the many parts of the human experience. The shift from being bored to noticing boredom is rich ground for contemplation.

Other emotions, like anger or excitement, may compel action, while boredom invites introspection.

Regular mindfulness practice increases tolerance to challenging situations and emotions, and it can help with coping with the impatience that arises from boredom.

Sitting around doing nothing can be boring, but it doesn’t have to be. Taking 5 or 10 minutes to observe the experience of being bored, noticing thoughts and feelings is a simple practise that doesn’t require much effort. It can make the experience of being bored more meaningful when it happens. Boredom can be the trigger for a short mindfulness practice throughout the day.

Mindfulness in itself won’t necessarily make someone less bored. It is a paradox that mindfulness, which can lead to transformative results over time, should be practised without trying to achieve any result. But weirdly, it works, and mindfulness is proven to increase focus, reduce stress, and it even changes our brains.

The Bored Brain Works Well

“Boredom always precedes a period of great creativity.”

- Robert M. Pirsig

Boredom is neither good nor bad. Bored people are prone to engaging in risky behaviours (such as taking drugs), but they are also likely to engage in creative pursuits.

Boredom acts as a signal that can propel us to do something: whether that is positive or negative depends on how we respond. It is very much possible to take a constructive approach, for instance, by practising a hobby or other engaging activity that leads to creativity.

In her book Bored and Brilliant, which explores the neuroscience of boredom, Manoush Zomorodi explains that boredom and creativity go hand-in-hand. It is not unusual to have an inspiring idea or find a solution to a difficult problem, in the shower, doing the dishes or commuting to work.

It is when we’re engaging in activities which are not particularly strenuous and don’t require much focus, that the ‘default mode network’ is activated. This network includes several areas of the brain which work together to solve problems, create new things, and empathise with others.

It’s natural to avoid boredom. But by doing so, we miss the opportunity to create the right conditions for the brain to do its best work. Resisting the urge to scroll away can be the first step towards being more creative.

Put simply, boredom tells the brain that there is space to think and engage in different activities.

Understanding that boredom is, like pain, an alert to ourselves which signals spare capacity to engage with deep thinking, we can use boring moments to let our minds be creative, read an inspiring book or practice a new skill.

It is easy to be swayed by the environment, reaching for the phone and checking notifications rather than actively choosing an interesting activity to try. Taking a book in the morning commute or keeping art supplies close by are simple ways to design an environment conducive to meaningful engagement.

Boredom Is, Well, Boring—And That Is Okay

Philosophers have, for centuries, studied boredom. More recently, research has shown the shortcomings of turning to our devices when we’re bored. In a time when speed and pace are the norm, boredom creates a space where time flows by slowly. That is something to cherish, a moment of calm in the storm of our daily lives.

The science of boredom can help us be more adept at dealing with it when it happens. Much like other states of mind, boredom tells us something about ourselves. If we choose to listen, we can use it as a ground to foster creativity.

But even though emotions tell us something about ourselves, that doesn’t change the feeling itself: pain tells us there’s something wrong in our bodies, but awareness doesn’t make the pain go away. Similarly, boredom remains boring, even when we know what it’s all about.

It is possible to learn to use boredom in our favour, to let our minds wander while we do the dishes in silence, resisting the urge to fill the space with the latest podcast.

In the name of productivity, we fill every spare minute of our lives. But downtime is productive time: it creates the space that our brains need to do its best work.

We spend a lot of time trying to solve problems, often pushing against barriers. But it is possible to do the same work by creating headspace and using idle time to think freely and without restriction.

In the urge to make every minute count, we forget that different states of being are important, even when they don’t seem productive or fun. Embracing boredom as a rich part of human experience can make us more creative and better at dealing with a range of emotions. It is a practice in emotional intelligence.

At the end of the day, boredom is still boring. And that’s the beauty of it.