Friday Feature: Are You Bored Yet?

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Ah, summer vacation. The long-awaited time of year when alarm clocks can be temporarily disabled, lazy days can stretch into lazy evenings and the sun is still out after dinner.

Ask any parent what the greatest summer affliction is, however, and most will agree. Sunburn? Nope. Poison ivy? Not that either.

Boredom.

Why is it that the very same kids who couldn't wait for summer to get here run out of ideas for entertaining themselves about fifteen minutes after vacation starts?

Inquiring minds really do want to know.

Boredom, as it turns out, is an area of interest for neuroscientists, who want to figure out what exactly it is, and what's at its root. And, although neuroscience doesn't have answers to those questions yet, researchers do know that boredom is often a trigger for binge-eating, and it plays a role in academic achievement -- or the lack thereof -- as well. Ready for a more dramatic connection?  Patients diagnosed with traumatic brain injury seem to have a higher rate of boredom than their uninjured peers.

How about you? Are you bored? Take the quiz here to find out.