学校放假了，孩子们也很无聊. 这未必是件坏事.

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It's summertime and the kids are home from school when one day they walk into the kitchen and say, “我无聊!"

为父母, the first inclination might be to find something for the children to do. 去外面玩. 打扫你的房间. 做一个艺术项目.

但, 专家说, don't underestimate the value of just letting kids figure out how to occupy the time on their own.

“让他们感到无聊. 让他们尝试减少污染的方法, 因为这是我们学习管理情绪的方式, 包括无聊,”医生说。. 艾琳·韦斯特盖特, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Florida in Gainesville and director of its Florida Social Cognition and Emotion Lab.

A 2023社会学研究前沿 defined boredom as a "state of mind characterized by a lack of interest, stimulation, or challenge. It is a subjective experience that can manifest in a variety of ways, 包括不安, 冷漠, 和不感兴趣.“无聊会影响心理健康, 认知与行为, 与抑郁症有关, 焦虑, 冲动和冒险的增加.

How people experience boredom can manifest in different ways and differ by situation, 韦斯特盖特说, 就像有些人表达快乐的方式一样, 悲伤或其他不同的感觉.

In general, an interconnection exists between the mind, body and heart, 根据… 2021年美国心脏协会报告, which cited the importance of mental health as a component for the well-being of people who have, 或者有风险, 心血管病.

无聊不同于放松. Something that one finds relaxing often involves an activity that still stimulates the mind, 比如骑自行车, 园艺或读书, 博士说. 迈克尔富, director and founder of the Digital Wellness Lab at Boston Children's Hospital and an associate professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School.

无聊可能仍然对身体有一些好处. 例如, 富人说, someone who is bored at night may find it easier to go to sleep and get more sleep. The benefits of adequate sleep include improved heart health and a lower risk of chronic conditions, 比如心脏病和高血压, 根据 疾病控制和预防中心.

Rich is especially enthusiastic about the benefits that moments of boredom present for kids from a developmental perspective, 以及激发创造力和自由玩耍的潜力. Such play can provide children with moments to figure out problems or think creatively – skills that become essential as they grow older, 说有钱, who recently wrote a book about raising kids in the digital age.

Play is essential to development because it "contributes to the cognitive, 物理, 儿童和青少年的社会和情感健康," while also offering opportunities for parents to fully engage with their children, 根据… 美国儿科学会2007年的报告.

People should embrace moments of boredom "as a gift of not having to do anything else right now,里奇说。, 然后用这份天赋来丰富我们自己, 即使是在做白日梦或者只是犯傻."

为父母, one solution for alleviating a child's boredom is to book their schedule to completely occupy their time. 但 that also means that kids may never experience boredom and what they can do about it, 韦斯特盖特说.

而不是, 她说, one strategy for parents or caregivers is to talk with kids ahead of time about activities they might enjoy in moments of boredom. It's an opportunity to teach children how to self-regulate their own emotions, similar to how parents may teach kids to soothe themselves back to sleep when they wake up in the middle of the night.

“无聊并不是坏事. 这只是反馈. And like pain, it's not necessarily enjoyable, pleasant feedback," 韦斯特盖特说. “但它仍然非常重要, useful information that gives us sort of a tool to act on that tells us, ‘嘿, 这是错误的, 这是一个改过自新的机会.'"