It's not supposed to help, it's like those stupid superpowers people make up that are less than useful.
Like the ability to sense neutrinos, those harmless little subparticles that penetrate the world every second of every day. Or the ability to breathe underwater, which only works while out of water (and vice versa).
“…Judge not what a man has done, but judge what he could have done if he was a different bloke altogether. For art thou a leper? And a leper can changeth his spots…” --Rudy Wade, Misfits (Series 4, Episode 8)