Is it healthy to be bored?

[cme-dme]

Been thinking lately - Is it okay to be bored? Is it healthy to be bored? Perhaps we need mundane and boring moments in life to make the exciting and stimulating moments stick out? In the current day where nearly everybody has a smartphone in their pocket to provide them with endless stimulation at any time, maybe we should be bored more often? It might make the little things in life stick out a bit more when the brain has time to ponder and not be constantly stimulated. Anyways idk what I'm talking about but discuss!

 

[bankai]

There's major studies on this, YES it gives your hormone receptor levels a good reset. I think it's dopamine, I can't remember if there were others. It's very important.

 

[Praestat_Mori]

I think it's a mix of both - Yes & No

Too much and permanent boredom is imo harmful.

 

[DivineSpark]

anhedonia+boredom is pretty nasty combination, unable to enjoy anything yet bored.

 

[LostLily]

Being bored is a normal feeling. To be fair, I rather be bored then anxious.

 

[NearlyIrrelevantCake]

Just like many things, a little of it is fine and healthy. But too much can be an issue.

 

[Diceroller90]

Been thinking lately - Is it okay to be bored? Is it healthy to be bored? Perhaps we need mundane and boring moments in life to make the exciting and stimulating moments stick out? In the current day where nearly everybody has a smartphone in their pocket to provide them with endless stimulation at any time, maybe we should be bored more often? It might make the little things in life stick out a bit more when the brain has time to ponder and not be constantly stimulated. Anyways idk what I'm talking about but discuss!

Its very easy to get bored today since we are over stimulated by everything.

Entertainment works like any drug. The more you consume, the more you need to take to reach the same effects. The situations that bore us today, such as being alone with our thoughts for a few moments, were relaxing to our great-grandfathers.

So for the short-term, I would say it is okay to be bored as we try to taper ourselves off our overstimulation and reset our brain. Soon we shouldn't feel bored as much.

Now others have brought up anehdonia which is a bigger concern. If you are always bored, it could be due to that which is a sign of a big problem.

 

[Griever]

I'm always bored

 

[Britney Spears]

I'm always bored

For me too, it's horrible because the eternal and endless suffering becomes more extensive.

 

[Dark Moon]

I'm always bored

For me too, it's horrible because the eternal and endless suffering becomes more extensive.

Count me in, I'm more and more bored lately.

 

[Pluto]

 

[LigottiIsRight]

It's fine and very common to be bored in certain moments and situations, it only becomes a problem if boredom constitutes the majority of the day, without activities capable of overcome it.

 

[Apathy79]

This has been a weird shift in the last 30 odd years, especially the last 20. Everyone used to get bored all the time before internet and social media. Now if most people take even a day off both internet and social media, they go insane. It's like boredom, which was the most common state for most people throughout all of history, has been completely eradicated in a few decades. The only way to get bored now is to be stuck on a bus without your phone. But that's also created another shift. Like as kids we would alleviate boredom with movies for example. Everyone could sit through a 2+ hour movie captivated entirely by it with no issues whatsoever. The issue was what to do next, and the answer was often just watch another movie. Now, because our attention has become so fragmented, most people can't even watch a movie in one sitting without playing a game or checking their phone at the same time. It's too long on one thing. That's dangerous I think. I'm trying to retrain myself to focus on one thing without distractions these days. I think that's a very valuable skill. And one more than 90% of society today doesn't have, adding to its value. And I think it starts with being comfortable with being bored again.

 

[cme-dme]

This has been a weird shift in the last 30 odd years, especially the last 20. Everyone used to get bored all the time before internet and social media. Now if most people take even a day off both internet and social media, they go insane. It's like boredom, which was the most common state for most people throughout all of history, has been completely eradicated in a few decades. The only way to get bored now is to be stuck on a bus without your phone. But that's also created another shift. Like as kids we would alleviate boredom with movies for example. Everyone could sit through a 2+ hour movie captivated entirely by it with no issues whatsoever. The issue was what to do next, and the answer was often just watch another movie. Now, because our attention has become so fragmented, most people can't even watch a movie in one sitting without playing a game or checking their phone at the same time. It's too long on one thing. That's dangerous I think. I'm trying to retrain myself to focus on one thing without distractions these days. I think that's a very valuable skill. And one more than 90% of society today doesn't have, adding to its value. And I think it starts with being comfortable with being bored again.

Yes, I try to do things like this as well! When I play video games I used to watch a youtube video or something while I play but I try not to do that anymore <3 I tell myself "Only one stimulus at a time" :) I don't watch many movies but I also try to not do anything else while I watch it (but if I do I will pause the movie)

 

[IDontKnowEverything]

Used to always overload myself with various distractions from life: books (5 min break? book!), lots of music, story driven games, constant racing thoughts.. now I'm too tired even for social media. Idk man, I'd say I know part of the answer at least but even as I do nothing, barely even move all day and just stare at some spots in the room at random, my formerly full and racing head very unfeeling, I still can't feel bored. I just feel nothing...
I think that it's alright to feel bored in moderation.
Too bored? Bad, I'd say. Too unbored? Also bad if it has a negative effect on your cognitive abilities ig.

 

[EvisceratedJester]

There's major studies on this, YES it gives your hormone receptor levels a good reset. I think it's dopamine, I can't remember if there were others. It's very important.

1. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter, not a hormone

2. It's doesn't "reset your receptors"

 

[L9 CHOCOSYRUP]

I read somewhere it gives you brain damage or somethin