The Space Where Creativity Meets Boredom and Stillness
- Layecha Fidahoussen
- Jun 4
- 5 min read
“Let yourself be bored”
It is a statement that resonated with me recently, as I was reading a Substack article. From time to time, I have been thinking about the importance of boredom and how it supports my creativity. It has helped me finding new topics to write about, new hobbies, and even drive inspiration for my paintings. Upon reflection, these moments shaped my best ideas and even the best pieces of work that I've produced (of course, subjective to me!).
As someone who has just completed an undergraduate degree in Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience and works as a Research Technician here in the SPI Lab (the team that brings you. ITM!), I’ve come to appreciate these moments of boredom. They don’t happen often, but when they do, they feel especially sweet.
I notice them most when I’m travelling, particularly when I’m without internet access. This was the case on my recent trip to Paris: complete stillness and boredom sat on the train for 2 straight hours. Initially, it gave me space to reflect on certain aspects of my life, but after some time, the boredom got to me, and it started giving me a space to think about creative things I can do. In this article, I’ll reflect on the value of these moments of boredom and stillness as well as highlighting some of the research and theories I came across while delving into this topic.
Our Reduced Tolerance to Boredom
I usually love to distract myself, either through social media, watching something on Netflix, or even listening to a podcast. Let’s just say I am a person who loves to consume, especially when I am bored. Due to this constant stimulation, moments of boredom don’t come as frequently to me anymore.
Nowadays, escaping boredom has become quite easy. One big reason is that navigating on social media is available almost all the time, unless we don’t have internet access. When we use social media, features like endless scrolling, likes, and notifications can trigger the brain to release dopamine, a neurotransmitter that helps drive feelings of pleasure, reward, and motivation. Because social media provides frequent and fast rewards, it can quickly interrupt feelings of boredom by giving the brain small bursts of satisfaction whenever we engage with it. However, over time, this quick dopamine fix may make periods of inactivity or boredom feel less comfortable. This explains the popularity of practices such as “dopamine fasting”, where individuals intentionally reduce exposure to highly stimulating content and platforms.
Studies have found that people who abstain from heavy social media use can experience withdrawal-like symptoms, including cravings, irritability, and difficulty concentrating. For example, apps like TikTok use algorithms that constantly deliver new and varied content, trigger a dopamine release and keep users engaged, where a short funny video is followed by a serious or emotionally charged one, which creates a sense of unpredictability that encourages continued scrolling.
When every spare moment can be filled with content, opportunities for reflection, creativity, and rest can become harder to find. I think it was easier to find these moments when we were children; we didn't have any responsibilities, phones, or unlimited TV-time to fill this “blank space”.
This “blank space” is something people usually run away from, or try to fill up constantly with music or external noise, especially as adults. This is why it is important to intentionally create moments of stillness in daily life, allowing the mind space to wander, recover, and engage with the world beyond a screen.
Creating Art without Inspiration
A lot of the time, my creative inspiration comes from actively searching for it, whether that’s through Instagram, Pinterest, or other external sources. Yet, lately, I’ve been allowing my thoughts to wander more freely and seeing what naturally emerges from whatever creative activity I’m doing.
One moment that stands out was when a friend once asked me to write a poem on the spot while we were sitting in a park, just pondering and taking in the sun and the view. It felt strange at first because I usually rely on external inspiration - something I’ve read, seen, or experienced - to spark my writing. I felt so stuck until she guided me to feel my senses and write about what I could see, hear, taste, and touch in the moment. What surprised me was that, in a moment that felt empty of stimulation, I was actually able to connect more deeply to the present. Letting my mind wander while staying grounded in my surroundings gave me the space to create something I never imagined I could write spontaneously.
I did some research about it and I came across the Default Mode Network (DMN) theory, which suggests that creativity is stimulated when the mind is at rest, bored, or wandering. The DMN, which is a group of brain regions, becomes active when individuals aren't focused on demanding tasks, which allows the mind to reflect, imagine, and connect ideas. You can read more about this in our previous article about the relationship between the DMN and consciousness!
This is closely linked to another theory, named the incubation theory, which explains that creative solutions often appear after taking a rest from consciously thinking about a problem. When the brain is not as stimulated, like when we daydream or even complete repetitive tasks such as admin work, the brain continues to process information. These processes are unconscious but can lead to creative ideas and sudden “aha” moments.
The Art of Slowing Down
You might have heard the phrase the art of slowing down. It’s about intentionally creating space for boredom, rest, and mental stillness in everyday life, and appreciating it. Growing up in Madagascar, this felt natural because slowing down was embedded in my daily routines - whether through midday breaks, naps, or simply allowing time to pause and relax - even on busy schedules.
Since settling in London, that slower rhythm has felt almost impossible, so I had to foster these small moments myself through daily practices such as prayer and meditation, which create moments of mental stillness. These pauses give the mind time to process experiences and reconnect with deeper thoughts and emotions, which can ultimately create space for creativity, clarity, and emotional balance.
From a physiological perspective, slowing down is not simply a matter of preference, but something deeply connected to how the body naturally functions. For example, for women, the menstrual cycle creates recurring phases where energy, mood, and cognitive capacity shift due to hormonal changes. Research suggests that fluctuations in hormones such as estrogen and progesterone can influence stress responses, energy levels, emotional regulation, and the importance of needing for rest. This emphasises the importance of aligning work, rest, and self-care with the body’s natural rhythms rather than resisting them.
Personally, learning to embrace slower periods instead of fighting against them has brought me a sense of peace and self-understanding. Rather than seeing rest as a weakness, it has become a way of working with the body instead of against it, creating space for slowing down and letting both my mind and body rest and appreciate moments of stillness.
There are many different ways of finding moments of stillness and boredom. Often, we find ourselves daydreaming during the quiet moments when we are not actively doing anything, before falling asleep, during a lunch break, or even while sitting on the tube. My own way of letting my mind wander, and the experiences I have reflected on in this piece, may not look the same for everyone. However, I hope this encourages you to seek out and appreciate those small moments of stillness in your own life, as they may hold more creativity, clarity, and meaning than we often realise.
