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Study finds walking improves creativity (2014)

news.stanford.edu

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Re: Study finds walking improves creativity (2014)

#4

Post by Dig1t »

I find that walking makes me more creative because its so boring. My mind starts to wander and try and entertain itself. Its nice to get out and enjoy nature, but on the whole I find that walking is mentally beneficial because it reduces stimulus and allows my mind to explore ideas.

Re: Study finds walking improves creativity (2014)

#5

Post by betwixthewires »

I believe this. When I'm working on something programming related I take frequent breaks to pace or walk around a little. Picked up the habit from my first dev related job, where my boss, prick though he was, didn't give a shit if you took a smoke break every 15 minutes. I no longer smoke but I still take breaks any time I feel like I'm zoning out and walk around a little, it helps a lot.

Re: Study finds walking improves creativity (2014)

#6

Post by paperwasp42 »

Interesting to see this confirmed by a study. As a writer, I've always found walks to be immensely helpful when plotting. A brisk 30-min walk is usually enough to solve any tricky plot-holes I run into.

Running has a similar, but immensely stronger, effect. Generally, I have near constant dialogue between my characters going on in the back of my head. When I run, it simply engulfs my mind, making it hard to concentrate on anything else. I cannot have "jogging buddies" for this reason. It's simply too difficult to listen/react to them when I have an overwhelming stream of imaginary conversation filling my skull.

Re: Study finds walking improves creativity (2014)

#7

Post by droidist2 »

Dig1t wrote: post #4

I find that walking makes me more creative because its so boring. My mind starts to wander and try and entertain itself. Its nice to get out and enjoy nature, but on the whole I find that walking is mentally beneficial because it reduces stimulus and allows my mind to explore ideas.

I think this is the mechanism behind the shower effect too.

Re: Study finds walking improves creativity (2014)

#8

Post by chiefalchemist »

paperwasp42 wrote: post #6

Interesting to see this confirmed by a study. As a writer, I've always found walks to be immensely helpful when plotting. A brisk 30-min walk is usually enough to solve any tricky plot-holes I run into. Running has a similar, but immensely stronger, effect. Generally, I have near constant dialogue between my characters going on in the back of my head. When I run, it simply engulfs my mind, making it hard to concentra…

I've solved plenty of nagging problems e.g., what missing from this code?) 20 to 30 mins into a 60 min run. The rhythm and the disconnect gives my mind just enough space to step back, rethink, and then solve.

Btw, the book "Your Brain at Work" by David Rock is worth a read if reading is your thing.

https://davidrock.net/books/

Re: Study finds walking improves creativity (2014)

#9

Post by Frost1x »

paperwasp42 wrote: post #6

Interesting to see this confirmed by a study. As a writer, I've always found walks to be immensely helpful when plotting. A brisk 30-min walk is usually enough to solve any tricky plot-holes I run into. Running has a similar, but immensely stronger, effect. Generally, I have near constant dialogue between my characters going on in the back of my head. When I run, it simply engulfs my mind, making it hard to concentra…

>Running has a similar, but immensely stronger, effect. Generally, I have near constant dialogue between my characters going on in the back of my head. When I run, it simply engulfs my mind, making it hard to concentrate on anything else. I cannot have "jogging buddies" for this reason. It's simply too difficult to listen/react to them when I have an overwhelming stream of imaginary conversation filling my skull.

I found the opposite effect for myself. While walking and basic physical exercise tends to improve my ability to tackle problems more creatively, running or high intensity exercise gets me in a survival mode where I can't think about complex and abstract problems deeply. Was a downside because I always wished I could multitask on 40-60 minute runs, killing two birds with one stone. Instead I can't get anything done but an intense cardio exercise.

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