A Wandering Mind Is an Unhappy Mind

20102,470 citationsJournal Articlegreen Open Access

Authors

Matthew A. Killingsworth · Harvard University Press

Daniel T. Gilbert · Harvard University Press

Abstract

We developed a smartphone technology to sample people's ongoing thoughts, feelings, and actions and found (i) that people are thinking about what is not happening almost as often as they are thinking about what is and (ii) found that doing so typically makes them unhappy.

Topics & Keywords

Mind wandering and attention Sleep and Wakefulness Research Sleep and related disorders

UN Sustainable Development Goals

Reduced inequalities

Publication Details

Published in: Science

Volume 330, Issue 6006, pp. 932-932

DOI: 10.1126/science.1192439

Field-Weighted Citation Impact: 29.81