<p>Is boredom only a state of mind?<br /><br /></p>.<p>Danckert James, a cognitive neuroscientist at the University of Waterloo in Canada, is one of a small but growing number of investigators engaged in a serious scientific study of boredom.<br /><br />There is no universally accepted definition of boredom. But whatever it is, researchers argue, it is not simply another name for depression or apathy. It seems to be a specific mental state that people find unpleasant — a lack of stimulation that leaves them craving for relief, with a host of behavioural, medical and social consequences.<br /><br />In studies of binge-eating, for example, boredom is one of the most frequent triggers, along with feelings of depression and anxiety. In a study of distractibility using a driving simulator, people prone to boredom typically drove at higher speeds than other participants, took longer to respond to unexpected hazards and drifted more frequently over the centreline. And in a 2003 survey, US teenagers who said that they were <br />often bored were 50 per cent more likely than their less frequently bored peers to later take up smoking, drinking and illegal drugs.<br /><br />Boredom even accounts for about 25 per cent of variation in student achievement, says Jennifer Vogel-Walcutt, a developmental psychologist at the Cognitive Performance Group, a consulting firm in Orlando, Florida. That’s about the same percentage as is attributed to innate intelligence. Boredom is “something that requires significant consideration,” she says.<br /><br />Researchers hope to turn such hints into a deep understanding of what boredom is, how it manifests in the brain and how it relates to factors such as self-control. Experts in fields from genetics to philosophy, psychology and history are starting to work together on boredom research, says John Eastwood, a psychologist at York University in Toronto, Canada. “A critical mass of people addressing similar issues creates more momentum.”<br /></p>
<p>Is boredom only a state of mind?<br /><br /></p>.<p>Danckert James, a cognitive neuroscientist at the University of Waterloo in Canada, is one of a small but growing number of investigators engaged in a serious scientific study of boredom.<br /><br />There is no universally accepted definition of boredom. But whatever it is, researchers argue, it is not simply another name for depression or apathy. It seems to be a specific mental state that people find unpleasant — a lack of stimulation that leaves them craving for relief, with a host of behavioural, medical and social consequences.<br /><br />In studies of binge-eating, for example, boredom is one of the most frequent triggers, along with feelings of depression and anxiety. In a study of distractibility using a driving simulator, people prone to boredom typically drove at higher speeds than other participants, took longer to respond to unexpected hazards and drifted more frequently over the centreline. And in a 2003 survey, US teenagers who said that they were <br />often bored were 50 per cent more likely than their less frequently bored peers to later take up smoking, drinking and illegal drugs.<br /><br />Boredom even accounts for about 25 per cent of variation in student achievement, says Jennifer Vogel-Walcutt, a developmental psychologist at the Cognitive Performance Group, a consulting firm in Orlando, Florida. That’s about the same percentage as is attributed to innate intelligence. Boredom is “something that requires significant consideration,” she says.<br /><br />Researchers hope to turn such hints into a deep understanding of what boredom is, how it manifests in the brain and how it relates to factors such as self-control. Experts in fields from genetics to philosophy, psychology and history are starting to work together on boredom research, says John Eastwood, a psychologist at York University in Toronto, Canada. “A critical mass of people addressing similar issues creates more momentum.”<br /></p>