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Put down devices, let your mind wander, study suggests

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Re: Put down devices, let your mind wander, study suggests

#181

Post by galoisgirl »

the_gipsy wrote: post #33
dexwiz wrote: post #3

I wonder how much of the current anxiety wave that seems to have stricken Millennials and Gen Z is because they have no idea how to be alone with their thoughts. Anecdotally, I have heard a great many jokes about needing a distraction due to negative internal discourse. Like if they are left alone for more than 5 minutes by themselves, they will inevitably spiral into depression. I have people in my life that need a…

Terror management, or how to evade thinking about our own death.

There's many ways to think about death. It can motivate you to live life to the fullest.

Re: Put down devices, let your mind wander, study suggests

#182

Post by fraXis »

I heard an interview with Steven Spielberg years ago. I wish I could find it for reference. He said in the interview that anytime he drives in his car, he would not talk on his phone or listen to the radio. It was complete silence for the duration of the drive. And most of his best work and ideas came from these "silent drives" because he was forced to be creative and use his imagination to keep himself entertained.

Re: Put down devices, let your mind wander, study suggests

#184

Post by bamboozled »

porknubbins wrote: post #72
bamboozled wrote: post #51

Has anyone experimented with having a "dumb phone" and taking that with them just in-case people need to contact them or for emergencies? Lately, I've had a few times when I accidentally left my phone at home and after an hour or so realized how much fun I've had without it.

I was thinking about getting a cheap prepaid phone to bring on long bike rides. Even though I only check my spartphone once or twice per ride I realized just having it prevents my mind from really relaxing. I should probably just bring everything to repair a flat then I wouldn’t need a phone at all.

I've taken all the tools and still had trouble, good to have a phone in case you need a ride home, maybe just an old Nokia or something would be fine.

Re: Put down devices, let your mind wander, study suggests

#185

Post by bamboozled »

alatkins wrote: post #65
bamboozled wrote: post #51

Has anyone experimented with having a "dumb phone" and taking that with them just in-case people need to contact them or for emergencies? Lately, I've had a few times when I accidentally left my phone at home and after an hour or so realized how much fun I've had without it.

Apple Watch with cellular lets me leave behind my phone when I feel like it and still be contactable.

Do you think you could live with it alone? I am actually entertaining the idea of going without a phone all together.

Re: Put down devices, let your mind wander, study suggests

#186

Post by bamboozled »

littlecranky67 wrote: post #155
bamboozled wrote: post #51

Has anyone experimented with having a "dumb phone" and taking that with them just in-case people need to contact them or for emergencies? Lately, I've had a few times when I accidentally left my phone at home and after an hour or so realized how much fun I've had without it.

I do exactly this. I got a cheap feature phone (Nokia, ~50€) with a MultiSIM that my cellprovider offers. Both phones ring at the same time when I get a call, and I can take it on either. I only have close contacts on my feature phone, it can play music, and I can make calls. Plus, the battery lasts 3weeks in standby, more when you only turn it on when you need it of course. Focus time is now only a matter of taking…

This would be cool to take hiking and camping. I take a nice camera for photos.

Re: Put down devices, let your mind wander, study suggests

#187

Post by intrasight »

Flashtoo wrote: post #129
intrasight wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can't emphasize enough what an impact this approach had for me. I suffered from sleep anxiety and insomnia. Took trazodone for years. It lost its potency and I wanted to get off the sleep drugs. Then I discovered history podcasts. The only ones that work have a single person talking and no ads intermixed with the podcast episode. Usually I'm asleep five minutes into the podcast. Then when I wake in the morning, I l…

Are there any specific podcasts you would recommend?

History of Rome

Revolutions

The History of Bizantium

The British History Podcast

Re: Put down devices, let your mind wander, study suggests

#188

Post by xcambar »

mars009 wrote: post #121
xcambar wrote: post #19

As I grew older, there are certain things I have learned to enjoy more, such as slowness, inaction, loneliness, boredom. Boredom is typically the most controversial, so the reason here is that boredom first allows for moments you want out of, but also there's more: It expands the range of comfort zone of emotions and sets the ground floor of your emotions low enough that you can actually welcome more experiences as r…

Honestly this. I never understood the point of mowing a lawn until now. Taking care of my yard (while failing miserable in some places), gets me away from my computer/phone/tv/whatever, and in touch with the outside world, even if its just me and my yard. Heck, I have come up with solutions to coding problems while mowing or just removing weeds

> Heck, I have come up with solutions to coding problems while mowing or just removing weeds

As paradoxical as it sounds, serendipity does not happen on its own. You have to foster an environment to let it bloom. Exactly what you did here.

Re: Put down devices, let your mind wander, study suggests

#189

Post by SixDouble5321 »

abhaynayar wrote: post #127

I have stopped listening to audiobooks while I'm out for a walk. At first, audiobooks seemed like such an efficient use of time. But after finishing a couple of audiobooks on my walks, I felt that my brain and my ears always yearned for not listening to audiobooks and instead just wanted to enjoy the walk itself. Now I just walk. If I'm not feeling that well, I do put on some music for a while, but never an audiobook…

Unsolicited anecdote time... I can't seem to get through physical books, but I can easily digest audio books and podcasts. I think that it has to do with the low bandwidth of reading combined with ADHD.

Re: Put down devices, let your mind wander, study suggests

#190

Post by Khartoum »

pxue wrote: post #36
lampshades wrote: post #18

Sometimes I wonder if our preoccupation with information consumption is a catalyst for our inability to have epiphanic thought. We’d probably have more Einstein-like breakthroughs in science if we weren’t constantly reading to find the answer and instead let our minds connect into the collective consciousness that already knows all.

I actually think it's the opposite. We put TOO much emphasis on epiphanic breakthroughs and often incorrectly attribute major discoveries to seemingly moments of epiphany. Einstein's biggest discovery took him decades to formalize, and definitely was not a eureka moment.

Perhaps Einstein had many small epiphantic thoughts along the way to his great breakthrough, that aren't of any real interest to the average person.
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