How Boredom Can Help You Think
Why we should allow ourselves to be bored more often
„Boredom means you develop your own interior life“
Nobody likes being bored. Boredom feels uncomfortable. It feels like wasted time, like a state that should be ended as quickly as possible. That is exactly why we fill every free moment with input. Social media, music, news, emails. Anything but nothing.
This text is not about learning to enjoy boredom. It is about understanding what boredom actually is, what happens in the brain when stimulation drops, and why certain forms of quiet are functional for thinking, memory and creativity.
What boredom actually is
From a psychological perspective, boredom is less a “state” and more a signal.
Boredom is an aversive emotion, meaning an unpleasant feeling that we want to avoid. It signals that engagement is currently not working. Either a task does not fit our available attentional resources, or it does not feel meaningful or goal‑relevant. In both cases, boredom sends the same message: continuing like this is not worth it.
This function is not accidental. Boredom pushes us away from unproductive activities and opens the door to alternatives. It works like an internal switch signal. When the brain detects that effort and reward are no longer balanced, motivation shifts towards doing something else.
An important distinction is often lost in popular discussions. Many effects attributed to boredom depend not on the emotion itself, but on a state of low stimulation: being awake without new input. In the absence of a new task, there is low interference, meaning little overlap from new stimuli or tasks that disrupt ongoing processing.
We do not need the feeling of boredom. What we need are gaps in input.
What happens in the brain under low stimulation
When external input decreases, processing dynamics change.
Fewer new memories are formed, task switching decreases and attention is less focused on the outside world. This creates space for internal processing. Experiences and knowledge can be reactivated, organised and integrated.
A helpful analogy is eating:
Simply eating is not enough. Without time to digest it, even good food cannot be properly processed.
The same applies to information. Without periods of minimal interference, the brain lacks the opportunity to process what it has taken in.
This effect is especially well documented in memory research. Short periods of restful wakefulness after learning or intensive work often lead to better long-term memory than immediate distraction. This is not sleep, but a distinct mode of processing.
At a neural level, the so-called default mode network (DMN) is often active during these periods. This network supports internally directed processes such as autobiographical memory, mental simulation, and thinking about the future. What matters most, however, is not the network itself, but the reduced interference that allows this processing to happen.
The key point to take away here is not that being bored makes you smarter, but that when there is less disruption, the brain can focus on its follow-up work.
Why low stimulation can support creativity
The link between boredom and creativity is often misunderstood, too.
Boredom itself does not make us creative. What matters are incubation phases. When we work on a problem, then take a break and return to it later, we are more likely to find a good solution. This is often because rigid ways of thinking loosen, associations reorganise, and the problem is mentally represented in a new way.
However, these effects depend on context. They do not occur with every task or with every form of mind-wandering. However, well-placed off-task phases can increase the likelihood of creative insights, without guaranteeing them.
Why micro‑rest windows disappear
The real question is not whether we like boredom.
The more relevant question is whether we allow enough phases of low interference. In an environment of constant input, these micro‑rest windows are increasingly disappearing. Not because smartphones are inherently harmful, but because they fill every gap.
Each additional stimulus means new encoding, new task sets and new attentional shifts. This reduces opportunities for integration, long‑term processing and incubation.
Part of this is habituation. Many people notice how strongly they now avoid being alone with their thoughts. Not out of weakness, but because silence has become unfamiliar.
An important caveat
A note of caution is necessary here.
People differ in how often and how intensely they experience boredom. Studies have associated high boredom proneness (the tendency to become bored easily) with factors such as depressive mood or anxiety. This does not mean that boredom causes illness, nor that experiencing more boredom will automatically help. It simply shows that unstructured offline time does not affect everyone in the same way.
Those who are prone to rumination often benefit more from structured quiet activities, such as walking or journaling with a clear prompt, or taking a deliberate pause after a task. Boredom is not a therapy. Low interference is a tool that needs to fit the context.
What follows from this
Here are a few simple ideas for dealing with boredom better and protecting low‑interference space:
After input comes rest. After learning, meetings or intensive work, 7–15 minutes without new input can be helpful.
Micro‑windows are not filled reflexively. Washing dishes, using the bathroom, waiting for the bus. These short pauses reduce interference and support processing across the day.
Boredom is read as a signal. When it is very strong or very frequent, it often points to problems with attentional fit or meaning, not a lack of discipline.
Inkubation is used deliberately. When stuck on a problem, a short pause without new tasks can help. Not with the expectation of a guaranteed solution, but with the realistic chance that a good idea becomes more likely.
What this is really about
Boredom is not the goal. Low interference is the tool.
We don't need to chase boredom for its own sake. However, we do need to allow time for quiet moments, so that our brains can catch up, our memories can settle, and new connections can form.
One helpful rule of thumb is to notice the impulse to fill every gap with input and pause instead. A few minutes without new stimuli is not a luxury. They are often what enables the brain to turn input into understanding.
L. A.
-
Andrews-Hanna, J. R. (2012). The Brain’s Default Network and Its Adaptive Role in Internal Mentation. The Neuroscientist, 18(3), 251–270. https://doi.org/10.1177/1073858411403316
Baird, B., Smallwood, J., Mrazek, M. D., Kam, J. W. Y., Franklin, M. S., & Schooler, J. W. (2012). Inspired by Distraction: Mind Wandering Facilitates Creative Incubation. Psychological Science, 23(10), 1117–1122. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797612446024
Bench, S., & Lench, H. (2013). On the Function of Boredom. Behavioral Sciences, 3(3), 459–472. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs3030459
Danckert, J., & Merrifield, C. (2018). Boredom, sustained attention and the default mode network. Experimental Brain Research, 236(9), 2507–2518. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-016-4617-5
Dewar, M., Alber, J., Butler, C., Cowan, N., & Della Sala, S. (2012). Brief Wakeful Resting Boosts New Memories Over the Long Term. Psychological Science, 23(9), 955–960. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797612441220
Mann, S., & Cadman, R. (2014). Does Being Bored Make Us More Creative? Creativity Research Journal, 26(2), 165–173. https://doi.org/10.1080/10400419.2014.901073
Wamsley, E. J. (2019). Memory Consolidation during Waking Rest. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 23(3), 171–173. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2018.12.007
Westgate, E. C., & Wilson, T. D. (2018). Boring thoughts and bored minds: The MAC model of boredom and cognitive engagement. Psychological Review, 125(5), 689–713. https://doi.org/10.1037/rev0000097
Reflection starts with dialogue.
If you’d like to share a thought or question, you can write to me at contact@lucalbrecht.com
Thinking from Scratch
by Luc Albrecht
Exploring how we think, decide and create clarity
