How daydreaming is as important for our well-being like sleep is ... intertwined with a story about driving, ZZ Top songs and texting ....

Public Domain Pic: The Scientifically Proven Benefits of Daydreaming
by Dr. Dave| Jul 14, 2020 | Health and Wellness, Stress Relief

I'm a little aggravated sitting in my car after quickly putting on my brakes after the traffic light had just changed to yellow as I had approached one of the traffic light camera intersections!

GRRRRRR ….!

Then, after calming down a little and just letting my mind wander as I was listening to some good classic rock & roll on 103.3 FM from ZZ Top on the radio, I found myself briefly daydreaming about the time I attended their concert with my buddy John Giraldo at the old Tulane Stadium in New Orleans!

How funny … as the light turned green and I went a little further, just then the school bus next to me flashed its lights on with the protruding signs warning me to stop as the “Waitin' for the Bus” ZZ song was about to end and went to “Jesus Just Left Chicago!”

What great memories I had that the daydreaming had provided me a type of coping mechanism to deal with the daily, everyday stresses we all face.

Then, as I was singing along with dat song about Jesus on his way from Chicago to New Orleans, my eyes spied a bunch of other stopped drivers texting away.

And it made me wonder:

What Ever Happened To Daydreaming?

We all know how important getting a good nights sleep is for our overall mental health status, but I now tend to think that a lack of daydreaming – especially more lately with many of us being captivated by social media and other hand held device distractions – has led to what we may also face that I'll coin, “DD - Daydreaming Deprived!”

For us guys, this may actually be a co-contributor to ED (LOL)!

From a little google searching, it appears that “science suggests that mind-wandering freely to more pleasant and playful thoughts may improve our mood and foster creativity!” - https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/what_daydreaming_does_to_your_mind

So as the bus's flashing lights stopped and the warning signs turned inward, I had to blow my horn to get the car in front of me to get moving since the driver's head was turned downward and he was texting!

Now as I'm dressed in my usual nice attire with a tie on, I think I'll just go ahead and go and greet Jesus in New Orleans as a “Sharp Dressed Man” (just came on the radio next - someone got his 3 ZZ's song on Anna's Show! - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wRHBLwpASw) on his trip from Chicago during this season of Lent and be sure to give up texting and driving so I can enjoy the eternal benefits of daydreaming about the upcoming joy of Easter!