You might remember daydreaming during class when you were growing up. Maybe you looked out the window and dreamed, but your teachers discouraged it. As a matter of fact,     1     Scientists agree that we spend an astonishing 30% - 50% of our time in daydreams.

    2     Daydreaming can be defined as the reverie you experience while you’re awake.

Contrary to what you may have been taught,     3    

Daydreaming Lessens Stress and Anxiety

By tuning out the noisy “outside” world, you allow your thoughts to flow freely. This fosters mental relaxation and exploration.When our thoughts flow like this, we are in what is called the alpha wave state.When we are in the alpha zone, we are calm and not thinking of anything with forced vigor.

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Research has established that daydreaming is correlated with higher levels of creativity. Take a break. The mind will still incubate on the problem.

Bianca L. Rodriguez says, “That’s why most of us have aha moments while doing mundane things like washing the dishes where we don’t have to focus too hard on the task at hand which allows space in our psyche to receive and reveal new information.”

Daydreaming Uses Diverse Parts of Your Brain

If you’ve ever noticed, children’s minds wander about constantly. It’s no secret that the young are daydreaming a lot. Yet, having your “head in the clouds,” as some people describe daydreaming, turns out to be more than a simple or diversionary pastime. As your mind wanders, you are using diverse aspects of your brain. Both the executive problem-solving network as well as the creativity network in your brain are working simultaneously.

So     5