Want to be More Creative? Do This…

A new study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition claims to have made a remarkable discovery. As reported by Business Insider, “Participants who went for a walk saw an 81% increase in tests measuring divergent thinking, a thought process associated with creativity in which you generate a lot of ideas.”
Walking has been practiced by top thinkers to generate ideas and solve problems for centuries, perhaps even millennia. The list of “walkers” is like a who’s who in the intellectual and business world. Aristotle, Friedrich Nietzsche, Steve Jobs, and Mark Zuckerberg were/are all walkers, and there are plenty more. Walking tends to stimulate your creative senses in many ways. One way is that walking simply “activates” or “awakens” your body and brain. Sitting around tends to deaden your senses. In other words, sitting slows you down and almost makes you numb to new thoughts and ideas. Walking (even if it’s just around a little room) gets the blood flowing and gets both your body and brain in thinking-mode, ready to produce and/or receive fantastic new ideas. The walk also gives you a new perspective. Perspective is extremely important to creative thinking and problem solving.
Walks do one more very important thing: They keep your spine moving and help reduce back pain. Sitting for long periods of time not only kills creativity, it slowly destroys your back. Bad posture and the forces of gravity cause joint “creep” that can cause serious problems over time. If you want to be even less creative, try thinking while you suffer from chronic back pain. Staying physically active is one of the best things you can do for both your mental and physical health.
And it’s not good enough to simply exercise at night after you sit all day at a desk. It is best to take frequent breaks and go for a walk, even if it is just in a little circle next to a tiny cubicle. Doing this little activity several times a day can pay huge dividends and help you avoid many health problems over the next 10, 20, or 30 years.