Is daydreaming a good thing or bad thing?

It’s fantastic.
It’s an escape. And one we very often need.

It can be away of dealing with stress or away of planing . In excess it is not good.

I think it is a good thing. Think it is a form of self-hypnosis, and very relaxing.

It’s OK as long as it’s not a place to “hide” from reality. Daydreaming can be a nice way to escape for a “mental vacation” sometimes, but it shouldn’t be where you spend most of your time.

…..... & the nasty computer spat out another question. Will it ever stop? Ahem err what was that again?

Daydreaming is great!I’ve come up with some very good ideas that way..

The brain has different strategies for problem-solving, and “daydreaming” is one of them. Brain scans show that in mind-wandering states the brain is actually more active, and is engaging more divers brain sectors, than when it is doing an analytical task.

Analytical reasoning is primarily a left-hemisphere activity. In tests that involve solving puzzles, some people approach the task analytically, while others are more likely to use an “insight” strategy, which brings the right hemisphere into play. This hemisphere is instrumental in making associations between the divers elements of a problem; in other words, it sees connections. The operation of the right hemisphere often happens at a sub-conscious level, while the mind seems to be wandering.

Insights into problems—sudden, out-of-the-blue realizations—appear on an EEG as a burst of gamma waves emanating from the right hemisphere about ⅓ of a second before the person consciously experiences the insight. Researchers could tell which subjects were likely to solve a problem using the “insight” strategy by a certain pattern of neural activity in the right frontal cortex.

The person is unaware of all this background activity before the insight arrives. It happens when the mind seems to be disengaged from the problem because the left hemisphere has abandoned trying to analyze it.

This doesn’t mean that the best way to deal with problems is to ignore them. It does imply, however, that it can be useful to periodically disengage from consciously thinking about a problem and give the mind free rein. It will continue to look for connections in the broader mental space that’s freed up when the intellect is at rest.

As long as daydreaming isn’t consistently replacing real life necessities, it’s a good thing.

This is how many great novels, inventions and instinctual discoveries have come into being. It encourages creativity.

Good question. I’d say that as long as you’re not operating heavy machinery while you’re doing it, daydreaming is a good thing. :) Daydreaming inspires us to with new ideas and exercises our creativity muscles. It also buoys our spirits when our lives aren’t going the way we want them to. As Langston Hughes wrote, “Hold fast to dreams/for when dreams go/life is a barren field/frozen with snow”.

In short, as long as daydreaming doesn’t interfere with your ability to function or to socialize with others, there’s no harm in it, and it might even help.

I read this and remembered your question.

@zenele great link thanks!