> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://gliszen.ghost.io/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # When Your Brain Needs a Minute - URL: https://gliszen.ghost.io/when-your-brain-needs-a-minute/ - Published: 2025-11-16T19:13:13.000Z - Updated: 2025-11-16T19:13:13.000Z - Description: Let's Chat About the Unexpected Superpower of Boredom - Author: RP Goldenberg | SwiftMindCare - Tags: Education, Substack-Moved, Neuroplasticity, Neuro Science, ADHD, Neurodiversity, Neurodivergence, audhd, Autism, Life, thought leadership, Newsletter, #Migrated-1784927624346, #Import 2026-07-24 21:18 # You know that restless feeling when nothing seems interesting enough? That fidgety, underwhelmed state we’ve been taught to escape from immediately? Turns out, boredom might actually be doing something really important for your brain. [Subscribe](#/portal/signup) ![black pug puppy on brown wooden chair](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1606103920295-9a091573f160?crop=entropy&cs=tinysrgb&fit=max&fm=jpg&ixid=M3wzMDAzMzh8MHwxfHNlYXJjaHwyfHxib3JlZG9tfGVufDB8fHx8MTc2MzMxOTc2M3ww&ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=80&w=1080) Photo by [Priscilla Du Preez 🇨🇦](https://unsplash.com/@priscilladupreez?ref=gliszen.ghost.io) on [Unsplash](https://unsplash.com/?ref=gliszen.ghost.io) I came across this idea recently and it got me thinking about how we’ve vilified stillness and empty space in our lives. Especially for those of us with neurodivergent brains, boredom often gets labeled as something to fix or avoid. But what if we’ve been looking at it all wrong? Here’s what actually happens when we let ourselves be bored: **Your creativity gets to stretch its legs.** When your brain isn’t being fed constant input, it starts making its own connections. Those random thoughts that pop up? That’s your mind doing what it does best when given the freedom to wander. Some of my best ideas have come during those moments when I thought I was “doing nothing.” **Your nervous system gets a breather.** After periods of stimulation (which, let’s be honest, is pretty much constant in our world), your brain needs time to process and reset. Boredom creates that space. It’s not laziness or wasting time. It’s actually your brain taking care of itself. **You figure out what you actually want.** When you sit with boredom instead of immediately reaching for your phone or the next distraction, something interesting happens. You start noticing what you’re drawn to, what matters to you, what you might want to do next. That clarity doesn’t come from constant motion. **Your focus gets stronger over time.** This one surprised me, but it makes sense. When you practice being okay with nothing happening, you’re building your capacity to stay present. Your brain learns it doesn’t need constant novelty to function. ![lighted Be afraid of the enformity of the rossible neon signage](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1520375412562-eab222cb8d43?crop=entropy&cs=tinysrgb&fit=max&fm=jpg&ixid=M3wzMDAzMzh8MHwxfHNlYXJjaHwxMTV8fGluc3BpcmF0aW9ufGVufDB8fHx8MTc2MzMxOTkyMnww&ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=80&w=1080) Photo by [Look Again Digital](https://unsplash.com/@lookagaindigital?ref=gliszen.ghost.io) on [Unsplash](https://unsplash.com/?ref=gliszen.ghost.io) For neurodivergent folks, this can feel especially complicated. Maybe your brain craves stimulation more intensely, or maybe quiet moments bring up uncomfortable feelings. That’s valid. This isn’t about forcing yourself into situations that don’t work for your nervous system. It’s about recognizing that sometimes the uncomfortable pause before the next thing is actually where growth happens. We don’t have to be productive every minute. We don’t have to optimize every moment of downtime. Sometimes the most supportive thing we can do is let ourselves just... be. Even when it feels weird or uncomfortable. What if boredom isn’t something to solve, but something to learn from? --- > > > *If you’re curious about the science behind boredom and want to explore this further, here are some resources that dig into the research. These resources can give you a deeper understanding of what’s actually happening in your brain when you feel bored, and why that feeling might be more valuable than we’ve been taught to believe. \* Let that creativity flow!\* - Rachelle G.* **Books:** - *Out of My Skull: The Psychology of Boredom* by James Danckert and John D. Eastwood (Harvard University Press, 2020) - Two psychologists explore how boredom functions as a signal from our minds, showing how we can use it to motivate positive change rather than viewing it as something to escape. [Google Books](https://books.google.com/books/about/Out%5Fof%5FMy%5FSkull.html?id=fjHXDwAAQBAJ&ref=gliszen.ghost.io)\- [Harvard University Press](https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674984677&ref=gliszen.ghost.io) - *Bored and Brilliant: How Spacing Out Can Unlock Your Most Productive and Creative Self* by Manoush Zomorodi (St. Martin’s Press, 2017) - Based on the author’s popular WNYC podcast experiment, this book explores the neuroscience of mind-wandering and offers practical challenges to help you unplug from devices and reclaim creative thinking time. [Macmillan Publishers](https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250124968/boredandbrilliant/?ref=gliszen.ghost.io) \- [Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/Bored-Brilliant-Spacing-Productive-Creative-ebook/dp/B06VTZYPTF?ref=gliszen.ghost.io) **Research Articles & Neuroscience:** - Danckert, J., & Merrifield, C. (2016). “Boredom, sustained attention and the default mode network.” *Experimental Brain Research* \- This study examines how the brain’s default mode network activates during boredom and what this means for attention and creativity. [PubMed](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26979438/?ref=gliszen.ghost.io) \- [Springer](https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00221-016-4617-5?ref=gliszen.ghost.io) - Neuroscience News coverage on boredom and brain health, including research on how the default mode network processes past experiences and plans for the future during downtime. [Neuroscience News](https://neurosciencenews.com/boredom-brain-health-16931/?ref=gliszen.ghost.io) - Research featured in Work Life by Atlassian on how boredom primes the brain for both convergent thinking (problem-solving) and divergent thinking (creative brainstorming). [Atlassian](https://www.atlassian.com/blog/productivity/boredom-at-work-creativity-neuroscience?ref=gliszen.ghost.io) [Subscribe](#/portal/signup)