Being bored is dreaded, so there’s an entire arsenal of distractions designed to keep it at bay. You end up doomscrolling, laughing hysterically at cat memes, working on a challenging puzzle, or simply letting music play in the background while you clean your room. In a nutshell, you may find it difficult to sit with emptiness, always reaching for some form of stimulation to keep yourself engaged.
But can this limbo of restlessness, impatience and irritation actually mean something? Your knee-jerk reaction to boredom is to counter it immediately, but what happens when you intentionally allow yourself to feel bored for once?
Let’s put this food for thought to the test, or at least try to understand whether there is a positive side to the antagonised feeling of boredom. Dr Megha Agarwal, consultant psychiatrist at Kailash Deepak Hospital, shared with HT Lifestyle that boredom is not necessarily something to be avoided all the time.
Boredom is not necessarily a negative state. The psychiatrist’s advice provides a different perspective from the conventional narrative, which treats boredom as something uncomfortable to sit with.
Dr Agarwal insisted on being bored for the brain to get the ‘quiet moments.’ “One thing I often tell my patients is that we have started treating boredom as something that must be avoided at all costs. The moment we get a few free minutes, we reach for our phones, start scrolling, or look for something to keep us occupied. But the brain actually needs those quiet moments.”
How does your brain benefit if you are bored?
An idle mind has its benefits, as it activates what the psychiatrist referred to as the brain’s ‘internal housekeeping’ mode. This occurs when you are not focused on any specific task. Dr Agarwal described that a great deal of mental processing takes place. “Brain processes emotions, organises memories, connects ideas, and sometimes helps us find solutions to problems that seemed difficult earlier.”
Now, this mental processing, which is mentioned, is important. According to the doctor, constantly consuming information without giving the brain enough time to process it can leave you feeling exhausted. This is why allowing yourself to feel bored occasionally may actually help the mind pause, sort through information and reset.
How can you allow yourself to be ‘bored’?
Being bored does not mean spending hours doing nothing and being unproductive. That is not the takeaway here. Instead, the psychiatrist suggested allowing yourself to experience boredom in a meaningful way. But what does meaningful boredom look like? “Give yourself a few moments every day without screens or distractions. A quiet walk, sitting with a cup of tea, or letting the mind wander can be surprisingly beneficial,” he added. So when you pause, you think clearly, feel calmer, and even be more creative. The parting advice from the doctor is an important message who trivialise boredom: “Sometimes, doing nothing for a while is exactly what the brain needs.”
About the expert
Dr Agarwal is a consultant psychiatrist specialising in de-addiction psychiatry and child and adolescent psychiatry. She has over 11 years of experience, with 4 years as a specialist. She completed her MBBS from Maharashtra University of Health Sciences, Nashik, in 2014 and her MD in Psychiatry from Rajasthan University of Health Sciences, Jaipur in 2018.
Note to readers: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your doctor with any questions about a medical condition.
