Emily Chan
Just in case you didn’t know, it’s normal for your mind to wander. While some people are better at maintaining their focus than others, almost everyone’s minds wander from time to time, regardless of the difficulty level of the activity they are engaging in.
People like to blame phones and social media for mind-wandering, but they are not entirely responsible for our distraction. Even without them, our minds will still drag us off task.
Scientists have found that at least 50 percent of the time, individuals are thinking about something else during a task.
Usually, mind-wandering happens when you’re in the middle of performing a boring task at work or home.
You might stop what you’re doing and get lost in the thought of a fictional scenario in which you’re best friends with your favorite celebrity.
Or perhaps you tend to reminisce about your past travels, reliving all the new sights, sounds, and smells you experienced.
When our minds wander, our focus shifts away from the task at hand to unrelated topics and thoughts.
Have you ever wondered how a wandering mind might affect our feelings? To determine the link between mind-wandering and emotional well-being, a group of scientists led by Julia W.Y. Kam from the University of Calgary conducted a meta-analysis using advanced statistical methods to incorporate data from over 23,000 volunteers.
A meta-analysis is a statistical combination of the results of multiple previously published studies that addressed a similar research question.
Sign up for Chip Chick’s newsletter and get stories like this delivered to your inbox.
