According to Scientific American, “Movement and creativity go hand in hand.” This is news to me, but apparently creative people have found this to be true. A musician speaks of writing music while on the hiking trail; an author finds running essential to her writing practice. Apparently, Beethoven, Henry David Thoreau, Maya Angelou, and Joyce Carol Oates have also combined movement and creativity.
Scientists are finding that consistent movement helps unlock
words, notes, and brushstrokes for authors, musicians, and painters. But why? One
Austrian researcher, who spent years studying the link between creativity and
movement, found that the more his study participants moved—in terms of step
count—the greater their creative output. Other scientists have found similar effects.
One hypothesis for this effect is that our current culture of
multitasking “overloads our mental workspace,” and that going outside and
moving about frees up space to create. Another theory is that movement boosts
mood, which allows you to create.
There’s not an optimal dose of movement that is guaranteed
to boost creativity, but some researchers find that cognitive benefits appear
to begin after about three sessions per week of 30 to 60 minutes of activity.
According to one scientist, “You start to develop new neurons on that dosage.”
Furthermore, he adds, “you think more clearly and have the mental space to
support creative thinking.”
I find that I come up with my best ideas in the middle of
the night. But maybe that’s because I’d been outside moving around during the
day. I should keep track.
For an introduction to this blog, see I Just Say No; for a list of blog topics, click the Topics tab.
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