L
astspring,I starteda new
exerciseclass.Assome-
onewhodislikesdoing
jumpingjacks,burpees
andpush-ups,I found
theworkoutssurpris-
inglyenjoyable,atleastfora while.
Butafterseveralmonths,myhobby
begantofeellikewatchingthesame
episodeofa sitcomonrepeat.I was
overlyfamiliarwiththeclassrou-
tine,andmyexcitementhadbeen
replacedwithboredom.
A 2016 studyestimatedthat 63 per
centofussufferfromboredomreg-
ularly.Andresearch showsthat
chronicallyboredpeoplearemore
pronetodepression,substanceuse
andanxiety.
Eventhoughweallfeelapathetic
fromtimetotime,accordingtoMary
Mann,authorofYawn:Adventures
inBoredom, it’softenseenasbeing
self-inflicted.‘Onlyboringpeopleget
bored’isa popularbelief.
Butboredomisn’ta characterflaw.
It’sa statebroughtonbysomething
calledhedonicadaptation,orthe
tendencytogetusedtothingsover
time.Thisexplainswhyactivities–
andevenrelationships– thatwere
initiallygratifyingcansometimes
losetheirlustre.
Humansare remarkablygood
atgrowingaccustomedtochang-
esinourlives,bothpositiveand
negative,accordingtopsycholog y
ProfessorSonjaLyubomirsky.This
is a good thing when we are facedwithadjustingtoadversitiessuchas
losinga lovedoneora job.Butbe-
comingimmunetopositiveevents
canprovedetrimental.Thinkabout
thelasttimeyoureceiveda payin-
crease,boughta carormovedhouse.
Atfirst,theseexperiencescanbring
immensejoy.Butovertime,they
becomepartoftheroutine.Weare
readyforthenextnewthingtoexcite
us.Thinkofit asa hedonictreadmill.
Whileboredomcanbeadowner
whenit drainsthepleasurefromour
lives,itcanprovidea sortofservice.
“Ifouremotionalreactionsdidn’t
weakenwithtime,wecouldn’trec-
ognisenovelchangesthatmaysig-
nalrewardsorthreats,”Lyubomirsky
says.Inotherwords,we’doverlook
cuessignallingustomakeimportant
decisionsaboutourrelationships
andsafety.
It’snotunlikehowourreactions
changewhenwefallinloveorexpe-
rienceloss.Beingcaughtintheglow
ofhappinessorthewebofsadness
canmakeusdistractedorforgetful.
Wemaymisssignalsthatindicate
whetherwe’reabouttomakea smart
move– ora disastrousone.Thegood
newsisthatunderstandingthecon-
nectionbetweenhedonicadaptation
andboredomcanhelpusmanoeuvre.
Astudypublishedin 2018 inthe
PersonalityandSocialPsychology
Bulletinshowedthatfindingquirky
waystointeractwithfamiliarpeople,
placesandthingscanmakeeveryday
experiences feel exciting. Inother135
The Genius Section