When our minds wander to the body, it may affect mental h...

What’s Happening

Let’s talk about People’s minds sometimes wander to their bodily sensations, which may reduce symptoms of depression and ADHD, a new study suggests.

News Health & Medicine When our minds wander to the body, it may affect mental health MRI scans show body-focused mind wandering may reduce symptoms of ADHD and depression People’s spontaneous thoughts often drift toward their body. This “body wandering” might benefit mental health, new research suggests. (and honestly, same)

Delmaine Donson/E+/ By Diana Kwon 13 hours ago this: via email (Opens in new window) Email on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit on X (Opens in new window) X Print (Opens in new window) Print Human minds often wander.

The Details

Whether we’re busy at work, doing chores or exercising, our thoughts frequently shift away from the task at hand. These spontaneous thoughts sometimes turn toward sensations in the body, such as our heartbeat or breath, and that could affect our immediate emotional state and long-term mental health , researchers report March 25 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Many studies focus on thinking about memories, events and other people, what scientists consider the cognitive aspects of mind wandering , says Micah Allen, a neuroscientist at Aarhus University in Denmark. This research suggests that mind wandering plays an important role in planning , learning , creativity and other important mental processes.

Why This Matters

It has also been linked to negative emotions and some, such as obsessively ruminating on past mistakes, may contribute to depression, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and other mental illnesses . For our We summarize the week’s scientific breakthroughs every Thursday. But how the mind might drift to bodily sensations, what some researchers call “body wandering,” and its effects have largely been overlooked, Allen says.

The scientific community tends to find developments like this significant.

The Bottom Line

But how the mind might drift to bodily sensations, what some researchers call “body wandering,” and its effects have largely been overlooked, Allen says. He and colleagues had 536 people lie still in a magnetic resonance imaging scanner and then complete a questionnaire about what was on their minds during that time.

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