Wander More, Worry Less: The Unexpected Mental Health Boosts of Daydraming
December 9th, 2025
Photo: Libby Zufi
Writer: Silvia Foss
Editor: Ann Marie Martinez
College routines make it incredibly easy to get caught up in simply doing things and constantly being in motion. Even downtime is an activity: watching a show, scrolling, reading, studying in the background. Very rarely do we sit with our own thoughts, walk without music, or plan time to be with ourselves. Giving your mind space and time to drift isn’t wasted effort; it can be a powerful, often underrated tool for boosting mental health, creativity, and learning.
What Is Mind-Wandering?
Dr. Natali S. Bozhilova of King's College London defines mind-wandering as the moments when your attention drifts from the task at hand and instead shifts toward internal thoughts, memories, or imagined scenarios.
We are often unaware when we begin mind-wandering. The Harvard Gazette estimates that people spend up to nearly half their waking hours in this state, and I’d agree that many people mind-wander without realizing it. But this is not a flaw in our attention system, for mind-wandering is a natural cognitive process, one that the brain engages in whenever it gets the chance.
How Mind-Wandering Supports Mental Health
While excessive or negative rumination can make mind-wandering feel destructive, many forms of mind-wandering support emotional well-being. Research summarized by the Greater Good Science Center highlights that mind-wandering often involves planning, reflecting, and imagining future goals—all of which can reduce stress.
J. C. Girardeau of Université Paris found that everyday mind-wandering episodes frequently focus on upcoming tasks, suggesting that drifting thoughts can help people mentally reorganize and unconsciously prepare for challenges. When your mind is free to roam, it often wanders toward the things you find most important.
The Creativity Boost You Didn’t Expect
Mind-wandering has been found to have a correlation with increased creativity. When your brain isn’t narrowly focused on a task, it's more open to forming new and unexpected connections. Even when you're supposed to be focused, but your mind wanders away, it can still help you link general ideas: a necessary condition for creative insight.
Colin McDaniel of the University of Southern California discovered that “incubation periods” (breaks filled with spontaneous thinking) increase creative problem-solving. These are the classic moments when a bright idea pops into your head while showering, walking, or zoning out during a tedious and repetitive task. This benefit likely is what led many historical figures to prioritize contemplative time for themselves, including Aristotle, Charles Dickens, Henry David Thoreau, and Albert Einstein, among others.
Why Mind-Wandering Helps Learning
Contrary to the idea that drifts in attention are harmful to learning, some instances of mind-wandering actually support it. Grant Hilary Brenner, MD, reports that spontaneous mind-wandering improves “inferential learning.” This is the kind of learning that involves noticing patterns, making new connections, or drawing conclusions that weren’t explicitly evident.
Shira Baror from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem found that mind-wandering after viewing images improved people’s ability to remember them later. It’s hypothesized that the downtime allowed their brains to better consolidate information.
TLDR
In a world that pushes constant productivity, mind-wandering may feel useless, yet it may be boosting your brain function in shocking ways.
Letting your mind drift can:
ease stress and support emotional well-being
spark creativity and fresh ideas
strengthen learning and memory
So, go ahead and let your thoughts wander. Your brain just might thank you for the mini vacation!
References
Azish, Noman. (2022, April 30). Why mind wandering can be actually good for you. Forbes.
Frontiers for Young Minds. (2024, March 20). Mind wandering can be a good thing.
https://kids.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frym.2024.1146773/ Frontiers for Young Minds
McDaniel, C., Habibi, A., & Kaplan, J. (2025). Mind wandering during creative
incubation predicts increases in creative performance in a writing task. Scientific Reports, 15, 24629. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-09736-y Nature+1
Murray, S., Liang, N., Brosowsky, N., & Seli, P. (2021). What are the benefits of mind
wandering to creativity? Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 18(3), 403-416. https://doi.org/10.1037/aca0000420 CoLab+1
Psychology Today. (2024, February 20). Let your mind wander: Experience the benefits
of day-dreaming in creativity and problem-solving. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/facilitating-thought-progression/202402/let-your-mind-wander Psychology Today
Yamaoka, A., & Yukawa, S. (2020). Mind wandering in creative problem-solving:
Relationships with divergent thinking and mental health. PLOS ONE, 15(4), e0231946. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0231946PubMed+2PLOS+2
