(STUDY FINDS) -- PULLMAN, Washington — Many people may be feeling bored more than usual after many weeks of coronavirus lockdown. It’s hard to find stimulating activities while day after day is spent cooped up at home. Researchers from Washington State University wanted to understand how the brain behaves when people are faced with boredom, and try to identify techniques people can use to cope with such monotony.
“Everybody experiences boredom,” says senior author Sammy Perone, Washington State University assistant professor in the Department of Human Development, in a university release. “But some people experience it a lot, which is unhealthy. So, we wanted to look at how to deal with it effectively.” These techniques can be especially handy during the lockdown when it’s easier to get bored.
People who feel bored more frequently than others exhibit brain patterns that account for their feelings of anxiety and depression. Those who cope well with boredom have more activity in the parts of their brain involved in creativity, demonstrating their ability to transform a boring situation into an interesting activity for themselves.