Aside from bringing your endorphins up and your weight down, study shows that exercise may also help you get creative.
In a study recently featured on Science Daily, cognitive psychologist Lorenza Colzato gave two sets of volunteers thinking tests to see if exercise could improve their divergent thinking, which is the way they come up with many possible solutions to one problem, and convergent thinking, which is the way they come up with one correct solution to one problem.
The results showed the group of participants who exercised regularly performed better compared with their more sedentary counterparts. “We think that physical movement is good for the ability to think flexibly, but only if the body is used to being active. Otherwise a large part of the energy intended for creative thinking goes to the movement itself,” says Colzato.
“Exercising on a regular basis may thus act as a cognitive enhancer promoting creativity in inexpensive and healthy ways.”
(Photo by Eneas De Troya via Flickr Creative Commons)
