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The Psychology of Boredom · Acedra
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The Psychology of Boredom
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0:01
[Music]
0:06
imagine being confined to a 10 by 10 foot room in complete isolation no timekeeping devices no phones no books nothing to write on no windows [Music]
0:22
psychologists say that fewer than three days in a room like this can lead to brain damage I will be staying in this room for three days
0:35
clearly he's on the border of misery
0:44
[Music] even in a city surrounded by people it's possible to feel lonely or bored your brain is like a hungry sponge it's constantly absorbing information it thrives when stimulated between smartphones and books and movies and friends and family thousands of sensations are constantly going into our heads but what if it all got cut off
1:22
what is boredom well it's believed to be an emotion that's a less intense form of disgust a visual representation of emotions developed by robert plutchik shows the ball on a wheel notice that boredom shares a spoke with disgust and loathing they are different intensities of the same emotion you see boredom pushes us away from low stimulus situations because variety and stimulation literally lead to neurogenesis brain cell growth we are here today doing what we do because
1:59
boredom has guided us toward greater and greater challenges and bigger and more complex brains so what is it like to be deprived of the sensations and social interactions so many of us take for granted a landmark study at Harvard and Virginia universities found that students prefer to experience physical pain over 15 minutes of boredom to demonstrate the surprising lengths people will go to to avoid boredom we brought in an unsuspecting subject for what he
2:36
believes to be a focus group we begin by introducing a set of stimuli one of which is very unpleasant Oh dirty what shocked the out of me our fake focus test continues so let's start with the shock button Jamison would you choose to experience this again I don't want to do that again why wouldn't you cuz it shocked me it could still feel it going down my farm now it's time for Jameson's true test the test of boredom you will be in the room for 30 minutes please remain in your chair
3:22
feel free to re-experience the electric shock button okay or not okay right at the moment of truth when the only two options are boredom or painful shock which will our subject choose he's not even looking at the button
3:45
it hasn't even been a minute yet and already Jamison is Restless with nearly a half hour to go and no other stimulation in the room the shock button is a tempting object to occupy Jameson's mind
4:06
remember what Jamison said a few minutes ago I don't want to do that again but will he desire stimulation so strongly he just goes ahead and pushes that button
4:25
[Music]
4:33
it took exactly one minute and 57 seconds of boredom for Jameson's mind to go from never again to sure I'll give myself an electric shock to relieve boredom sometimes stimulation any stimulation is perceived as better than none at all now this guy doesn't like being bored but can he resist touching it a second time
5:03
[Music]
5:17
we're social animals whether it's another human or a volleyball or an electric shock button you'll make friends with whatever you need to Jameson I'm Michael thanks for coming in today so tell me a little bit about what you've been up to here in this room I've been sitting in this room with a button yeah and despite saying I didn't want to press it again I pressed it twice why I just bored in this room I suppose really yeah did that hurt yes the hypothesis is that
5:53
when left alone with a very negative stimulus people will go ahead and re-experience it just because it's something to do [Music]
6:10
we dislike being bored so much sometimes physical pain is preferable but intentionally putting yourself into what would seem to be the most boring environment possible can be useful it's called sensory deprivation psychologists have conducted experiments on sensory deprivation since the 1930s during the Cold War the military used sensory deprivation for both training and interrogation in the 1970s the activity became recreational with soundproof light proof floatation tanks that keep
6:52
you buoyant with salt water that is the same temperature as your body
7:01
all right so I'm on my way to a subterranean float lab this company sells sensory-deprivation this will be a sort of training session for my three days in isolation and I'm getting guidance from an expert hey Dominic how are you hey what's up Michael you know Dominic Monaghan from Lord of the Rings and the TV series lost now this is your first time this is my first time I'm a little nervous I've never been alone without any stimulation one of my favorite things about flowing
7:30
is there's nothing else going on okay I can't see anything you can't hear anything you can't do anything you just have to look at you and for some people that's scared it's like looking in a mirror if you out this notation tank is a really good way of getting in prepped for the isolation chamber but I also think he needs to be okay with the fact that it's gonna put mass out of his comfort zone the mind is a good thing to lose every so often all right let's take a peek oh
7:58
so this is the room this is where I will be floating for the next hour alone with nothing to do but listen to my thoughts I'll see you on the other side
8:13
the mind is a good thing to lose every so often you have to remind fear that you're in the drivers drivers drivers drivers hey Dominic pause it it was really good yeah can we sit down let's do it my initial my initial thought my when I lay down was wow this is buoyant and then I just started thinking about errands and tasks but at some point well it was like dreams huh but my eyes were open like those sort of like half dreams you have either when you're about to
8:50
fall asleep or when you're waking out that's when it gets interested you're allowing your brain to be free you're just floating in space you're just actives that are on the top of this pool floating in space so now you've done this and you do this this isolation booth delia that was in some way helpful or hindrance it made me more unhappy about what's coming up three days is quite a bit different than one hour
9:27
some people choose isolation to learn about isolation as we prepare to explore other planets were faced with a little issue stuff in outer space is really really far apart within our own solar system even a trip to Mars would take months in each direction that's a long time to spend cut off from the rest of humanity stuck at a tiny spaceship to get ready for those journeys we have subjected some people to extreme conditions here on earth in 1989 a young Italian
10:06
interior designer named Stefania Fellini volunteered for a NASA experiment to help study the effects of isolation associated with space travel she spent a hundred and thirty days alone in a plexiglass cell in a cave 30 feet underground in New Mexico in the absence of timepieces and any sign of day or night miss Fellini's body was thrown out of whack her menstrual cycle stopped and her sleep-wake cycle changed radically she tended to stay awake for 20 to 25 hours at a time sleeping about 10 hours
10:45
when she finally emerged she mistakenly believed she'd only been underground about half as long as she actually had as difficult as Stefani's experience was at least she had books to read in my isolation chamber I will only have white walls to stare at
11:10
alone time what a pleasure checking out getting away from it all relaxing banishment from society the silent treatment solitary confinement solitude isn't always nice what happens when isolation is not voluntary William Brown has first-hand knowledge of solitary confinement so William how how much of your life have you spent in prison probably like 16 years it's like almost half your life yeah basically almost half my life because I went to jail when I was 18 on
11:59
bank robbery this right here this is my home off enough about two years though was the longest stretch of consecutive time I was like five months total I'll tell you what really amazes me this feels so much worse than a jail cell this doesn't have bars letting in light or a view not at all would you have a mattress at least that would be the only thing in this particular cell that would be the only thing in here you would you would just have a mattress and that you
12:38
would have nothing more this light will constantly stay on so there would be you know it's always on that light is always been at night even at night that light is always on your left in here with your thoughts that's it I would sit like like say friends I will sit in this corner right here like based in the corner facing out no I won't face out and I will just sit and just concentrate on breathing you don't know it's like you're in the limbo hey you never know when I got over the door I've
13:13
known guys that have served consecutive years inside this same little box how does that change them mentally it's cars them for life really yeah this is what I'm gonna do I'm gonna put myself in a room like one of these and I won't have a clock anything at all no way to tell time what I'm nervous about is when that door closes and the awareness the sudden awareness of how much time I have see that's the thing about it cuz once this door right here closes it's like
13:52
it's it's final this is almost a coffin really
13:59
even more extreme than isolation from other people is isolation from other people and stimuli that's what I'm going to be doing inside this room this is about as boring as a room can get it's soundproof and this light will never turn off I do have a small bed but there will be no interruptions I will have no way to tell what time it is no meals will be delivered because all the meals are inside the room already white containers of Soylent I do have plenty of water and I have a wash basin with a
14:40
white bar of soap and I've got myself a tiny little toilet there's nothing to do but be completely alone with myself and my thoughts now psychologists say that fewer than three days in a room like this can lead to brain damage I will be staying in this room for three days a full 72 hours
15:07
so I'm gonna take your vitals first Michael is basically turning himself into a lab rat what we want to do is see what might change with Michael before and after his time in isolation what's gonna happen to his blood pressure what's gonna happen to his pulse his basic reflexes are there actually any medical concerns you would have I'm just gonna be in this room you got a really bright light on there the circadian rhythm which is your natural wake and sleep cycle is going to be completely
15:38
disrupted by this really bright light and once your circadian rhythm gets off a lot of other things fall apart hormone cycles cognitive ability metabolic processes so you know it's kind of like you're giving yourself jetlag how great I think it's important to test his cognitive ability to gauge any mental decline that might happen during at 72 hours of isolation let's try the reaction time okay dude this is pretty fun can I bring this into the room with me so what's gonna happen
16:11
to my brain in there well one of the issues that might worry me is how calm versus neurotic you might be where would you put yourself on that spectrum closer to neurotic coming on yeah so I wonder if that might be amplified that is how my brain will work it'll snowball I'm scared I'm not gonna be able to deal with the monotony and the lack of a sense of time and I'm gonna have a panic attack in an extreme situation people can have massive hallucinations disassociated from reality have
16:43
tremendous anxiety psychotic types of episodes Marty Jake yes I'm gonna be gone for three days the danger signs to look out for are extreme agitation where it doesn't appear that he's aware of his own agitation that's when I think I might intervene I'm not worried for him physically like I think he's you know he's safe in there but I think that he's gonna struggle in there he's gonna be really bored love you bye-bye
17:21
[Music]
17:25
by
17:32
forgot to ask what time it was when I came in she's always doing something reading something talking to someone the or day looks really bored in this making their five offenders it's just gonna be a horrible 72 hours I'm actually pretty tired I've been standing a bunch today normally when I change into more comfortable clothes and I'm like ready for bed I lay down and then I pick up my phone or a pick up a book or something but I don't even I don't have that if he
18:08
succeeds in going to sleep for any length of time that's substantial that's gonna be interesting to see it what time he thinks it is when he wakes up right
18:25
I was able to sleep and I woke up maybe one or two times in the night so I think it's probably you know 8 a.m. Thursday morning maybe closer to 9 a.m. I guess I should have some breakfast one two three I've known Michael for three years and I've never seen him do a push-up zy x w vu t sr q p o n MLK I think he's come up with some some good ideas for mental stimulation I wonder if it's time goes by he's gonna come up with some more creative ones or he's gonna start to get
19:23
less creative I've done 200 steps now eight more hundreds to go and I'll be at a thousand why is it that so many people turn to counting to stay saying when they're in these isolated environments well our our minds want to remain active there they're naturally active the healthiest people who survive in these types of environments will do something to self stimulate they'll count they'll sing they'll do physical exercise one hundred three hundred steps and then
19:54
some change that I just took right there that's just a little bonus for my body for my health
20:03
it's amazing how hard it is to tell what time of day it is just based on your body I think it's about 7:00 or 7:30 p.m. on Thursday I think I'm gonna have dinner now he's already quite off on his perception of time I was actually surprised at how quick that happened I was too you know if you're using hunger as your gauge that's out the window too because the shifts and hormones are going to change your appetite now they look at lab rats who have had their circadian rhythm destroyed and they
20:34
overeat 13 at the moment I'm feeling bored but obviously nothing dramatic if I had to guess it would be 24 hours now since I first came in one day down two to go if he gets a full sleep cycle in he'll wake up not knowing where he is right good morning I don't know if I slept for eight hours or if I slept for three if you think it's bedtime it is so long as you go to bed if you think it's breakfast time it is if you're having breakfast what am I looking forward to the most
21:37
seeing my my family and friends it's not even that I want a meal it's actually that I just want to have a meal with people I just want to talk to some people I just want some other words coming in to me than the ones that come out of my own mouth he enjoys sharing things with people and to have no one there's nothing coming back for three days might be difficult I am the only person I'm hanging out with if you're in true isolation literally part of your brain is generating some kind of
22:10
companion converse with I think having you here makes a big difference you know he's entertained himself in a sense you know talking to the camera and that's been helpful for him it's really kept him cognitively aware I just feel like I've really lost all connection to time but I'm guessing it's you know 8 p.m. maybe 9 p.m. on Friday a good time to get some some shut-eye when there's not much else to do [Music]
22:47
I think it's Saturday about 9:00 a.m. Saturday the day I get out so his dissociation with the actual time has doubled now right he wakes up and there's this bright light and he's thinking oh it must be morning I've spent a lot of time to being entertained by my memories and I'm thinking of the people and the places and the events and how I missed them and how I treasure those moments there's a sort of cinema in my brain a cinema of those memories that's kept me from being very bored so
23:25
I think it's 8 p.m. on Saturday so in about a couple hours I should see that door open he's not even close and I wonder how he's gonna respond to that
23:45
[Music] I don't think I'm getting out today a fear I have right now is that it's just Friday and if there's still a lot of time left there are other times during this that I was definitely more Zen about everything now I'm upset I can't believe the color of the light isn't changing in the mornings when I wake up it's so much more yellow without some type of stimulation the mind wants to stimulate itself anyway and will begin to hallucinate and begin to play all sorts of tricks absolutely
24:35
my thoughts are really incoherent there it's hard for me to even to remember what I just thought in 712 713 714 715 7 fifteen 716 717 70 in a way our brains are kind of uh use it or lose it thing he's going to have a definite decrease in his cognitive ability a decrease in his overall sense of well-being
25:08
how many bottles of water if I drink is there one more laying around here that I've lost because there are only six here but then down here there are did I [Music]
25:35
all of the dreams I've had that I remember have been about this room they've been about me being in this room and about
25:49
he wakes up in these in the room it's difficult for him to discern the difference between reality and dreaming sometimes so that's a real dissociation for him sr q LMNOP worried about him now because when he first went in there he was like bored like someone waiting for a bus you know now he looks actually depressed the soap is really unique it's not a kind of soap I've ever used before and I really dislike the smell and I keep smelling it because it's just sitting there clearly Michael is not
26:30
happy right now he he looks like you know on the border of misery really aggravated by how uncomfortable I am this seems like a very very long three days [Music]
27:03
he was just laying there when I walked in I thought he'd be you know city like bed you know this was something he wanted to do but I expected him to be bored terribly bored but I thought he'd still be talking and trying to entertain himself
27:30
[Music] it seems like Michael woke up from some kind of dream he looks confused
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[Music]
28:40
[Music] I'm really confused we did I guess not I guess I just dreamt it I am so confused
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[Music]
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is 72 hours over it's 72 hours Michael you can come out all right I'm coming out oh my gosh it's bright in there it's really bright in there I hadn't really noticed but now that you mention it we're outdoors hey that knock scared me did it startle you yeah every little noise has been startling me okay you seem very with it right now it's excited energy yeah like coming out at first I thought it was that I want to communicate but actually I need this direction too even
30:26
if it's just nods and stuff that's so much better let me just check your vitals before you see your family 155 over 95 so that's quite a jump in your blood pressure [Music] your pulse is also higher I think that's because you're excited to be out I think this is a huge rush I'm interested to see now how you do with some of the more cognitive tests three 18:09 seven - seven - there you go I would say you did actually a little bit better this time oh wow okay although we had AI pathi sized you
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would be worse at all of these tests I think the rush of adrenaline that you got from finally being out and being able to communicate actually had you more focused more aware and that's why you performed better I find it interesting that the tests you did the worst on is probably the most to do with the use of the verbal language and you've had definitely a lack of that over the last 72 hours it was just me with myself for three days it was only me how are you oh good I missed you let
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me say hi to my mom Oh glad you served right yes in the room I was fine being alone this is what I've been living but then near the end as I started to anticipate coming out and and being able to talk to people and share my experience I realized how important that was if you only have your own experiences you're not fully having them you have to have someone else to listen to them and react to them and then you've fully experienced them anyway I I've moved I don't live there anymore
32:18
when I was in isolation I was surprised most by two things how easy it was to be separated from distractions like entertainment and phones and how difficult it was to be separated from things we humans evolved alongside the earth and other people I was amazed by how uncomfortable confusing and scary it was to have nothing but myself you know I used to be a really big fan of the Seine he who travels fastest travels alone I think I liked it because it made me feel better about how I preferred to
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be independent and to be left to my own devices but now I appreciate the full phrase better it may be true that he who travels fastest travels alone but he who travels furthest travels with others and as always thanks for watching
33:20
this season on minefield [Music] ready ready hold the drug in your mouth until we say swallow they've been some audio-visual distortions we see some images behind your eyes how does it feel to be known as the Ken and Barbie of real life it isn't a breakfast for champions it's a breakfast for sheeple bachelor number two is an online chat
34:04
beautiful welcome to minefield [Music]
34:16
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