Veena Shankar

Ever wonder how Archimedes got his ‘a-ha’ moment while lounging in a bathtub? Or how Newton unravelled the secret of gravity while dozing under an apple tree? If recent research is to be believed, it may well be because the wandering mind is fertile ground for creative problem solving! The findings of several separate studies have (belatedly) legitimized a preoccupation of choice for most of the human race — old-fashioned daydreaming. These studies focused on the type of activity that goes on in the brain during mental drift — a cognitive state that can occupy as much as one third of our waking lives.

“Mind-Wandering or mental wandering, wandering mind, drifting, day-dreaming is a cognitive phenomenon in which the brain becomes distracted from the task at hand and the mind strays into unrelated territory, often for long periods of time. Thoughts can include reliving or regrets about the past, fantasising or worrying about the future, or simply enjoying imaginary moments away from whatever task one is supposed to be carrying out” (source: Neuro-sculpting.com )

One study reveals that when the mind drifts, the temporal lobes — which are associated with processing long-term memories — become busier. So when one drifts into a reverie, there’s some important
data-storage work going on.

Another study has reached a more interesting conclusion: that the idling mind is likely to be doing deeply creative work, tackling hairiest long-term problems. This theory is supported by scans which have found that a wandering mind utilizes the pre-frontal cortex, the part of the brain that’s involved in problem solving.

So the next time you’re struggling to solve a complicated problem, you might be better off switching to a simpler task and letting your mind wander. And if you find your child indulging in some unfettered mind wandering, refrain from the usual “don’t just sit there daydreaming, DO something!”

Who knows, that brain might be addressing some knotty big-ticket issues.