Why you should embrace boredom

Are you okay with boredom? Maybe you'd do anything to avoid it.

In the era of smart phones and social media, it's now easier than ever to distract our minds. In fact, it's hard to imagine another time in human history when we've been less comfortable doing nothing.

"Nowadays we do all we can to eliminate boredom before it hits... We swipe and scroll that boredom away."

Dr. Sandi Mann is a senior lecturer in psychology at the University of Central Lancashire. She wants you to do something radical: give boredom a chance.  

Mann's research has shown there's a direct relationship between boredom and creativity. "Boredom gets the creative juices flowing. And when we try to get rid of all our boredom, we're perhaps eliminating our creativity as well."

When we allow ourselves space to be bored, our minds begin to daydream and that's when the creativity and eureka moments occur.

So how do you make time to be bored? Dr. Mann says there's no shortage of occasions when you can carve out that space: during your commute, in the bath, or at a dull meeting, when you're going for a walk or a swim or hanging out at the park. They're all great opportunities to stare into space "and let the daydreaming commence."