You look out of the window and get lost in your deep thoughts. A sudden shrieking voice tells you to “Stop daydreaming and listen to the class”. 

The reality hits when you hear your teacher’s voice. 

And then you are back to listening to the class.

During your school days, you might have grown up daydreaming which was often considered a waste of time. But daydreaming has its fruitful benefits 

Daydreaming is not all bad.

On average, 47% of the human species’ thoughts are spent daydreaming.

What is daydreaming?

The definition of daydreaming is a fantasy or series of pleasant thoughts you have while you are awake. These thoughts help you to escape from reality.

For example The night before the exam, you dream of winning the best student of the year award (or) planning for your vacation, while preparing for the physics exam you hate!

You merge yourself into pleasant thoughts in order to escape from the present moment. But daydreaming has a positive effect on the functioning of your brain.

Daydreaming amplifies your creativity:

Daydreaming is associated with higher levels of creativity. All the most incredible inventions or any masterpiece we admire today were all born in their creator’s dreams. 

Constantly trying to solve a complex problem doesn’t help. Taking the necessary break allows your mind to bring back your creative juices. 

When your mind isn’t forced to ride on a tightrope, it reorganizes all information and develops new and unexpected perspectives. Being distracted and allowing your mind to wander may lead to the eureka moment.

Your brain gets to rest while dreaming. The human brain is never left alone. It is always up to thinking of something or the other. Generally, three are four types of thought. They are

• Task-unrelated
• freely moving 
• deliberately constrained 
• automatically constrained.

When our mind thinks of the freely moving and task-unrelated then it is in a state called alpha where our mind attains a sense of calmness. The alpha state increases creativity and the power of absorbing new information.

It increases Empathy:

Kindness is crucial in how we interact with individuals and the environment around us. Fantasizing helps us to put ourselves in the shoes of others and see the world through their eyes. When we demonstrate empathy for others, we may form deeper ties with coworkers and others, allowing us to work with greater collaboration and communication.

While daydreaming, your thoughts flow with freedom. You can stay away from the real world chaos, where you have a regular to-do list, task at the office, and household chores. It kind of acts as a coping mechanism. 

Reduces stress:

We replay the events that were not as successful as we had expected. 

For example:

You fought with your partner. After some time you relieve the fight episode with your partner- dialogue by dialogue, word by word. Where do you think of the best replies you would have given in the argument?

This promotes greater future readiness by allowing us to let off some steam and relieve tension. Daydreaming is a great method to boost emotional preparedness and relaxation after a long workday.

Reach your goals:

Indeed wandering thoughts play a great role in achieving your goal. A recent study shows that a person who often daydreams was able to focus and complete their tasks rather than a person who did not indulge in daydreaming. 

The famous high-ticket deal closer to Dan Lok’s goal was to buy a red color sports car in his early days. That fancy car was way beyond his budget so he worked hard for it.

He says  “I used to imagine that I had already bought the car. I could touch the dashboard, steering and feel the scent of the car in my thoughts”.  

“When I finally bought my dream car there was no excitement and jumping around. All I felt was inner peace”.

That is because he already had owned it in his thoughts. He made his dream into a reality by daydreaming. It helped him to push beyond his limits to work hard and made him believe that the pocket-crushing fancy car can be owned by him one day.

It activates diverse parts of your brain

The thoughts that arise in your head when you’re fantasizing are rather complex. When your mind wanders, you use different parts of your brain. Both the executive problem-solving network and the creative network in your brain are active at the same time. 

As we engage these diverse brain regions, we get access to knowledge that was previously unavailable or inactive. As a result, boredom or inactivity serves an important role. It encourages us to fantasize, which strengthens key brain connections.

Here are some of the most effective ways to daydream:

Don’t just daydream during your work.

Dream when you have mundane things to do. Like vacuuming your house or folding your clothes. While daydreaming, choose the tasks where your required concentration is less.

Positive daydreams can create a massive impact on your life. Imagining yourself to be the best writer, successful entrepreneur, or 7 figure business owner, or to even growing just plants motivates towards your goal. Fill your daydreams with where you want to see yourself in the future.

Sketching

Sketching or Doodling is a type of daydreaming, and studies reveal that individuals who doodle have stronger neural pathways than those who don’t. The brain associates new knowledge with an individual who does sketching, which improves recalling.

Adult coloring books are a great alternative if you don’t like doodling. Adult coloring books are available in a number of styles to accommodate a wide range of preferences, ranging from fauna and decoration to culture and gastronomy. Take out some colored pencils or markers and let color therapy replenish your brain. 

Listen to music and look at pictures for inspiration

Listening to music that makes you happy can improve your daydreaming.

When you look at celebrities posting on social you might imagine how the celeb’s outfit will look on you. You may even begin to visualize a better version of that particular outfit. This imagination from taking inspiration from the pictures pleases ur brain.

Know your boundaries:

Daydreaming is great and all. But remember to take breaks and keep a check on your dreaming habit. Because it’s quite easy to get carried away by pleasant thoughts and there are cases where people dream for long 6 to 7 hours or more. This condition is called maladaptive daydreaming. MDD occurs when someone is so consumed by their daydreams that daily life and activities are disrupted. Key indicators of MDD include:

• Involuntary facial expressions, repetitive body movements, and vocalizations that accompany daydreams
• An overpowering urge to keep daydreaming
• Long-lasting daydreams that continue for minutes to hours
• Trouble focusing
• Sleep issues

Conclusion:

Daydreaming is common and almost everyone does it at one point or another. It increases as we age because it often centers on the future. When daydreaming becomes addictive and consumes your thoughts to the point of avoiding your responsibilities and relationships, then it becomes problematic. But remember it can be leveraged to inform decision-making, boost creativity and enhance your own happiness if used properly.