Ever go for a walk and out of nowhere solve a problem that’s been bugging you for awhile? — that’s because the act of walking improves creativity. Researchers at Stanford found that creative thinking improves while a person is walking and even continues for a period of time thereafter. In their study, Oprezzo and Schwartz found that the creativity levels of people who were walking were consistently and significantly higher compared to people who were sitting. In fact, a person’s creative output increased by an average of 60 percent when walking.
Why do we care?
Well, if you want your life to change, sometimes viewing your circumstances from a new perspective can be helpful. New connections or opportunities for solutions are discovered that weren’t previously available. Walking especially helps increase your ability to creatively brainstorm which is a key strategy to problem solving especially at the beginning stages.
This is just more evidence illustrating how the body influences the mind. There are many other well-researched benefits of walking related to mental and physical health:
- Reduces depression and anxiety
- Improves mood
- Increases your ability to sleep
- Decreases stress
- Improves memory and cognitive skills (i.e. learning, decision making, problem solving)
- Improves creativity and creative thinking
- Increases energy
- Reduce cravings for sugar
- Improves blood sugar and high blood pressure control
- Reduces heart disease and stroke
You do your best thinking when you walk.
At The Runaway Fork, we offer this evidence-based strategy to our clients. Why not take advantage of the extra creativity boost gained from walking to generate new insights and ideas about your life? New perspectives plus some mood-boosting Vitamin D from the sun will have you feeling energized and optimistic.
