The benefits of daydreaming - Elizabeth Cox

Enter the mind of a bored teenager to discover what happens in the brain when we daydream and find out what purpose it serves.

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On a daily basis, you spend between a third and half of your waking hours daydreaming. That may sound like a huge waste of time, but scientists think it must have some purpose, or humans wouldn’t have evolved to do so much of it. So, what exactly happens in the brain while you daydream? Elizabeth Cox takes a closer look at the science of daydreaming through the mind of a teenager.

Lesson by Elizabeth Cox, directed by Biljana Labović.

This video made possible in collaboration with Bezos Family Foundation

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[juangarcia]

The difficulty is when it becomes maladaptive. It became a coping mechanism to survive a difficult childhood to be able to escape to somewhere better wherever I was or whatever situation I found myself in. I come up with scenarios that I can’t turn off whether good, bad, or neither. And I can stay stuck there anywhere from a few minutes to hours at a time. I’ve gotten better at daydreaming with intention and using it in the way the video mentions, but to an extent it is also an impediment in actually mobilizing towards achieving that dream. It was mentioned briefly, and while I agree with the video as a whole, I do wish they had touched more on that nuance.

[budofchaos]

Being a pre-teen, I daydream a lot. And I sometimes even do make-believe games with my friends based off of it!
I think daydreaming while trying to go to sleep helps me relax and flow into that pseudo-sleep state.
Not to mention, It helps give dopamine and serotonin, which, like I said, helps calm me down.

[sahilv]

For me maladaptive daydreaming is a like a coping mechanism. And imo it's good only if you can control it. It's no good if you sit down for a 2 hour study session and end up daydreaming for 2 hour straight.

[euuutopia]

I’m always running things over in my mind, especially plot lines for my stories and my aspirations. Glad it all contributes to good mental health

[HMJ]

I daydream so often that just during this video, my mind wandered to voice acting just listening to the person in the video. I started wondering whether I'd be able to pursue a career in it.

[swarachandorkar]

To me, daydreaming is where I use all my storywriting skills. Sometimes I even write down my favorite daydreams. Thank god there's nothing wrong in daydreaming!!

[arunimaroy]

Where was this video for so long🥺🥺🥺😭😭soo true ❤❤❤❤❤and also thanks🙏✨💓

[danielquirogagarza]

2 years ago I was literally all the day daydreaming or in a local sleep. Because my imagination was so big but now I don’t daydream to much.

[Creepzza]

No teenager would use such sophisticated language

[bhasmank]

Not just teenagers, I am nearly 70 and its the day-dreaming that got me thinking to keep on learning, exploring. Just an example of what I discovered ... Did you know that the planets, constellations and more out there have to be on similar pathway for one to die as they were at the time of birth? Any mathematicians out there? Lenghty calculations without knowing all the formulas to hand.

[misakijimenez]

I thought the whole video was about the teenager daydreaming, which would be amazing!!!

[hamster]

thank you for validating my favorite past time

[dolight]

Me daydreaming while watching this video:

[genevieveramoss]

i like to think of my daydreams as manifestation and affirmation.

[GarvitBabbar]

i was daydreaming throughout this video

[establ.]

Daydreaming is my favorite hobby that I don’t know that I have, it’s funny to stop and think about this, but it’s true.

[OXIR]

But does anyone else have a playlist on by default? I literally always have something playing in the background when I'm idle. When I wake up it's like a song automatically starts playing. It can be very frustrating. On the other hand though I generate a lot of music in my head and it's like I have a whole orchestra in my brain. I also imagine entire alternative scenarios of my life and I don't like it. Mind is wild.
But I'm sure part of these is about not being present. I should work on that.

[PokhrajRoy.]

I loved the illustration of the brain. I want it as my wallpaper.

[berasuriyanzu]

i was daydreamig listening to the video

[piperjaycie]

I would have called that first story just thoughts. I day dream most of the time. But it’s like a movie or tv show playing and it can be or do whatever I want. The first story to me just seemed like thinking about something to do.