The happy upshot of this study is that it suggests a wonderfully simple prescription for greater happiness: think about what you’re doing. But be warned that like any prescription, following it is very different from just knowing it’s good for you. In addition to the usual difficulties of breaking bad or unhelpful habits, your brain may also be wired to work against your attempts stay present.
Recent fMRI scanning studies show that even when we’re quietly at rest and following instructions to think of nothing in particular, our brains settle into a conspicuous pattern of activity that corresponds to mind-wandering. This signature ‘resting’ activity is coordinated across several widespread brain areas, and is argued by many to be evidence of a brain network that is active by default. Under this view our brains climb out of the default state when we’re bombarded with input, or facing a challenging task, but tend to slide back into it once things quiet down.
Why are our brains so intent on tuning out? One possibility is that they’re calibrated for a target level of arousal. If a task is dull and can basically be done on autopilot, the brain conjures up its own exciting alternatives and sends us off and wandering. This view is somewhat at odds with the Killingsworth and Gilbert’s findings though, since subjects wandered even on ‘engaging’ activities. Another, more speculative possibility is that wandering corresponds to some important mental housekeeping or regulatory process that we’re not conscious of. Perhaps while we check out, disparate bits of memory and experience are stitched together into a coherent narrative – our sense of self.
Of course, it’s also possible that wandering isn’t really ‘for’ anything, but rather just a byproduct of a brain in a world that doesn’t punish the occasional (or even frequent) flight of fancy. Regardless of what prompts our brains to settle into the default mode, its tendency to do so may be the kiss of death for happiness. As the authors of the paper elegantly summarize their work: “a human mind is a wandering mind, and a wandering mind is an unhappy mind.”
On the plus side, a mind can be trained to wander less. With regular and dedicated meditation practice, you can certainly become much more present, mindful, and content. But you’d better be ready to work. The most dramatic benefits only really accrue for individuals, often monks, who have clocked many thousands of hours practicing the necessary skills (it’s not called the default state for nothing).
The next steps in this work will be fascinating to see, and we can certainly expect to see more results from the large data set collected by Killingsworth and Gilbert. It will be interesting to know, for example, how much people vary in their tendency to wander, and whether differences in wandering are associated with psychiatric ailments. If so, we may be able to tailor therapeutic interventions for people prone to certain cognitive styles that put them at risk for depression, anxiety, or other disorders.
In addition to the translational potential of this work, it will also be exciting to understand the brain networks responsible for wandering, and whether there are trigger events that send the mind into the wandering or focused state. Though wandering may be bad for happiness, it is still fascinating to wonder why we do it.
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11 Comments
Add CommentRead this on the NYTimes bowt three weeks ago.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThis article assumes that happiness comes as a RESULT OF ones level of mental engagement. But what if the mind disengages as a RESULT OF already being unhappy? The causal relationship here is unclear, and can go both ways.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisPerhaps it would be better to steer clear of implying that if one focuses harder on the dull tasks of their lives, they will become happy, before evidence of such is actually found. Sure there is a correlation, but what is its nature?
Dopamine is the key.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThis was on BOTH the NY Times and Sci Am last week. Not sure why they bothered to put it back up. Terrible study by the way.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI have to disagree with this article, from my own experience as well as the experience of many others I have spoken to on the subject, the wandering mind is a very peaceful, happy one. The problem with sampling on this subject is that distraction is an art and is satisfying only for the skilled practitioner. For those who have not made peace with these proclivities it can be frustrating and guilt ridden. For others who have come to terms with the nature of the wandering mind, distraction is a source to strength and inspiration.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI think easterners have already discovered this truth and named it Zen. Individual mind is most in peace when it is fully aligned with its environment and loses its distinction between self and otherness.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe most significant failing of this study is that it assumes that the participants answered honestly. If something keeps pestering me I will tend to eliminate it or if I can't eliminate it, deliberately mess with it.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI think Trelanea made a very good point about the causal relationship as well.
Definitely an important point. Correlation v. causation is always tough to determine, especially in a study like this. In the paper's defense, the authors did do a 'time lag' analysis to address this very issue. They found that the degree of mind wandering at a given time, T, strongly predicted the level of happiness measured at the next sampling, T+1, but not vice versa. That being said, it's tricky to draw too strong a conclusion since T and T+1 could be pretty far apart. Ideally, we'd want to know how someone felt immediately before and immediately after a given episode of mind wandering. There are probably some clever ways of doing this to resolve the issue. We'll have to wait and see.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisOK, there is a correlation between wandering minds and unhappiness. But which is the cause and which is the effect? Could both be effects of other factors?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI kind of agree with you. I think thinking is an art. But I think, that thinking or having a "wandering mind" is not accepted very well in society as it usually doesn't lead to immediate results and affects production. I think that the negative consequences of the wandering mind is what leads to associating it with negative feelings about it. Being present leads to results and production with makes you feel good about it. I don't think the act of thinking itself is what makes u unhappy.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThis is a well written expose on the science of happiness. Many of the discoveries and fundamental principles found in this article can be found in the philosophy of Zen; namely acceptance of your current reality and living within the present. Whether we are mentally engaged, or not is not the issue, it is finding space within our reality and being grateful for it that matters most when searching for happiness, or what I prefer to call excitement.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAn article that I found the other day explains this space beautifully, "Find out what happiness is to you. Work out your true values in life (I'm not talking about what society expects of you) and then remind yourself everyday what they are. This will help you navigate the challenges of your daily life and stay focused; after-all as the great philosopher Seneca once said, "If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favourable."" Taken from: http://www.breathemagazine.com/article/self/happiness-in-a-nutshell-your-personal-happiness-project
What this Scientific American article talks about alignment, in my opinion this is representative of being grateful and conscious on every task that you perform. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this as it shows the correlations between science and mystery.