{"id":27365,"date":"2026-01-10T10:37:35","date_gmt":"2026-01-10T02:37:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=27365"},"modified":"2026-01-10T10:37:35","modified_gmt":"2026-01-10T02:37:35","slug":"how-boredom-can-boost-creativity-and-cognitive-function-tackle-anxiety-and-much-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=27365","title":{"rendered":"How boredom can boost creativity and cognitive function, tackle anxiety and much more"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n<\/p>\n
\n
If I complained to my mother when I was a child that I was bored, she either told me to read a book or to make up a story to amuse myself.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m bored\u201d was a common refrain in children and teens in the past, agrees Michelle Kennedy, a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of the Sunshine Coast in Australia. In recent years, however, she says parents have scheduled their offspring\u2019s time so tightly that there is no time for them to experience boredom<\/span>.<\/div>\n
Even when there is time, children today frequently have a device at hand to capture their interest.<\/p>\n
They are on their phones rather than \u201cpondering and wondering\u201d, Kennedy says. They have developed a screen habit reinforced by parents who do the same now when they have time on their hands.<\/p>\n
\n
\n\n
<\/div>Michelle Kennedy, at the University of the Sunshine Coast in Australia, says parents have scheduled their offspring\u2019s time so tightly that there is no time for them to experience boredom. Photo: Michelle Kennedy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Clinical psychologist Dr Christian Chan, an associate professor in the department of psychology at the University of Hong Kong, agrees.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
![\"Michelle](\"https:\/\/img.i-scmp.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto\/sites\/default\/files\/d8\/images\/canvas\/2026\/01\/07\/6762c1df-d582-4025-b235-7d80582bfa65_7fdb0f5b.jpg\" "\\"Michelle")
<\/div>