3 WAYS TO KEEP YOURSELF CREATIVE
Oh, that last section, The Land of Imagination: Part I, made you think I was going to let you off easy, didn’t it? No way! There’s more to this whole creativity thing than thought exercises and experiencing culture. More important than either of those is your physical well-being. After all, your brain is an organ and, as such, is a part of your larger body.1. Take Care of Your Body
How you treat your body is how you treat your brain. And no brain or body can function without plenty of sleep. Not only is sleep a time for your dreams to run wild, but it’s also when your body recovers from the day and heals all the little stresses that built up in your body. Sleep deprivation causes a decrease in daytime alertness by as much as 32 percent,[1]. It also affects how much information you can process and eliminates your brain’s capacity to hold memories. All of these things add up to a brain that can’t think creatively. There are no ‘super foods’ that help you get creative, despite what your college roommate might have to say about his “special brownies.” A diet high in salt, sugar, and caffeine can greatly impede your cognitive ability to think creatively. However, a healthy lifestyle and proper diet allows for better blood flow to your brain, supplying more oxygen and fuel to help you get creative. While we are having this very holistic conversation about how taking care of your body positively impacts the health of your brain, I should bring up one very simple yet effective exercise that works like a steroid on your “creativity muscle”: walking.
2. Remember That Environment Matters
Numerous studies,[3] [4] show that your environment can influence behavior and thought. Being in nature has been shown to light up creative centers in the brain. Organic and naturally inspired workspaces have been shown to provoke and stimulate creativity. Interestingly enough, this effect increases in the presence, or perceived presence, of water. Merely having a picture of water in the room can increase creativity. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this has been broken down and translated into Color Psychology. Colors affect our moods. Reds promote lust and alertness; yellow promotes hunger; blues and greens – perhaps because they are colors commonly found in nature – promote calmness and creativity[5]. Beyond colors, the shape of your environment can influence those creative juices. Studies show that curved and circular surfaces subconsciously promote creativity. Meanwhile, flat surfaces and hard edges are relatively rare in nature and, therefore, do not have the same effect.3. Detach, Unplug, and Get Bored


- http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/features/important-sleep-habits
- http://news.stanford.edu/news/2014/april/walking-vs-sitting-042414.html
- http://www.uncommon-knowledge.co.uk/articles/uncommon-hypnosis/environment-to-influence-people.html
- http://www.mutualresponsibility.org/science/3-ways-the-environment-shapes-human-behavior
- http://www.feng-shui-and-beyond.com/color-psychology.html
- https://hbr.org/2009/10/why-the-internet-is-so-distrac
- http://99u.com/articles/7188/why-boredom-is-good-for-your-creativity
Wonderful post, you batted 1000 on this topic. I totally agree on walking outdoors vs.treadmills: when I (as a photographer) walk I see things in a fresh or new light. Looking at everything, up, down and all around, makes your imagination work overtime taking in all of the stimuli.