To concentrate effectively and think better, it would be enough to walk. This activity would stimulate the brain during and allow it to be as creative afterwards, according to the results of a study published in the specialized journal the Journal of Experimental Psychology of the American Psychological Association.
Researchers at the University of Santa Clara in California wanted to understand with this new research whether a large majority of men think better while walking.
They followed 176 mostly student volunteers and subjected them to creativity tests.
Scientists conducted 4 experiments to analyze the positive effects of walking on thought and creativity. The results of these tests proved that walking had a beneficial effect on participants during and after exercise.
Walking stimulates creativity
The volunteers had to answer creativity tests while sitting, walking on a treadmill indoors and outdoors, and after walking.
Walking allows you to think better and have better ideas in the moment, but also has a residual effect. Its beneficial effect lasts in the long term.
“Walking really has a beneficial effect on creativity. Most participants saw their creativity increase by 60% when walking both indoors and outdoors. And the volunteers showed themselves to be more stimulated and with better ideas when we did new tests afterwards,” explains Professor Marily Oppezzo, co-author of the study.
This new study confirms the conclusions of previous research which highlighted the benefits of sportson the intellect and especially the harmful effects of a sedentary lifestyle or sitting too long.
In January, researchers from the University of Kansas in the United States published a study which revealed that “a sedentary lifestyle can be fatal and that it is not only necessary to encourage individuals to move more but that they also have to advise to spend less time in a seated position”.
However, the World Health Organization recalls that “42% of the active population (men and women combined) spends an average of 4 hours sitting (at the office, on public transport, at home) and 3:17 a.m. in front of computer or television screens”.
