Boredom

Boredom is an emotional state experienced during periods lacking activity or when individuals are uninterested in the opportunities surrounding them.  Boredom can be defined in terms of psychological processes central: "an unpleasant, while the situation in which individuals feel a lack of interest and difficulty concentrating on the current activity." boredom arises not from lack of things to do, but from the inability to perform certain activities.

There are three types of boredom, all of which involve problems of engagement of attention. These include times when we are prevented from engaging in something, when we are forced to engage in some unwanted activity, or when we are simply unable, for no apparent reason, to maintain engagement in any activity or spectacle.

Boredom is a condition characterized by perception of one's environment as dull, tedious, and lacking in stimulation. This can result from leisure and a lack of aesthetic interests. Common passive ways to escape boredom are to sleep or to think creative thoughts (daydream).
Although it has not been widely studied, research on boredom suggests that boredom is a major factor impacting diverse areas of a person's life. People ranked low on a boredom-proneness scale were found to have better performance in a wide variety of aspects of their lives, including career, education, and autonomy. 

Boredom can be a symptom of clinical depression. Boredom can be a form of learned helplessness, a phenomenon closely related  to depression. Some philosophies of parenting propose that if children are raised in an environment devoid of stimuli, and are not allowed or encouraged to interact with their environment, they will fail to develop the mental capacities to do so.

In a learning environment, a common cause of boredom is lack of understanding; for instance, if one is not following or connecting to the material in a class or lecture, it will usually seem boring. However, the opposite can also be true; something that is too easily understood, simple or transparent, can also be boring. Boredom is often inversely related to learning, and in school it may be a sign that a student is not challenged enough, or too challenged. An activity that is predictable to the students is likely to bore them.

Boredom has been studied as being related to drug abuse among teens.   Boredom has been proposed as a cause of pathological gambling behavior. A study found results consistent with the hypothesis that pathological gamblers seek stimulation to avoid states of boredom and depression.