Unplug and let your mind wander - it's good for you, according to research.

Research demonstrates that it is beneficial for you to unplug and let your mind wander.

People frequently avoid taking a seat and pondering, choosing instead to use their smartphones as a distraction.

New research suggests that this may be due to people's perceptions that thinking will be dull.

But according to experts, people could find this practice to be more fun than they think.

According to studies, allowing your mind to wander can improve your creativity and problem-solving skills.

According to experts, spending some time to "unplug" from your electronics can also help you unwind and sleep.

People frequently take out their cell phones to check their emails or read the news when they have a few spare seconds.

According to Kou Murayama, Ph.D., co-author of new research just published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, "We tend to consider that "just thinking" or "just waiting" is uninteresting.

Murayama and his associates, however, discovered that people valued alone with their ideas a lot more than they had anticipated.

When there is spare time, Murayama observed, "it's so simple to waste time in the present digital environment." But in a scenario like that, it could be a good idea to lose oneself in thought. He said uninterrupted downtime can be more enjoyable than people would think.

Murayama emphasized that, in addition to pure delight, mind-wandering could also have other advantages. He asserted that research in the past has shown that allowing one's thoughts to wander helps foster greater creativity and problem-solving skills.

He said we can miss out on these advantages if we shun quiet meditation periods.

More often than they may believe, people like thinking.

Murayama's team used 259 participants in six studies to get their results. Students from universities in Japan and the UK took part in the study. Each experiment had a different number of participants.

In the first of these studies, the researchers contrasted participants' feelings of enjoyment with their expectations coming into the study. Participants were asked to sit and contemplate for 20 minutes. Reading, moving about, or using their smartphone were all prohibited as distractions. They were then asked to assess how much they had enjoyed the seminar.

The remaining trials had some differences but were of a similar character. In one experiment, for instance, the research subjects were forced to sit in a barren conference room, while in another, they were made to sit in a pitch-black, enclosed environment where they couldn't see anything. They were required to sit and contemplate for various lengths of time.

In another experiment, two groups made predictions about their preferred activities—thinking and news-checking—in advance. Despite the thinking group's prediction that they would not like it as much, both groups ultimately found their respective activities to be rather enjoyable.

The overall finding was consistent across all experiments: respondents found thinking to be more enjoyable than they had anticipated.

However, Murayama did observe that people did not find pondering to be very joyful. Simply put, they found it to be more fun than they anticipated. He went on to say that not all thinking must necessarily be enjoyable. For instance, when there are no outside distractions, certain people could be more prone to negative thoughts.

In light of the fact that the study's participants were all college students from Japan and the U.K., Murayama stated that their work has to be reproduced among different groups.

Putting technology away and unwinding

Hanna M. Garza, Ph.D. LPC, CAMF, clinical director for Texas Child Health Access Through Telemedicine, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso, advises folks to take some time to unplug and unwind since they probably won't be as bored with their ideas as they believe.

Every person deals with a variety of difficulties, pressures, and obligations every day, according to Garza. "In order to be productive again, human beings need time to refuel their batteries."

Garza argues that stepping away from your mobile device is one method to do this.

Make it a point to take your lunch and turn off your phone at work, she said. "Avoid using your phone while eating, especially if you're eating with family."

She also advises switching to Airplane Mode on your phone when you want to unwind and sleep so that you won't be bothered.

Finally, she advises making plans in advance so you may take advantage of your free time without worrying about approaching obligations.