THE PRINCIPLE

Movement helps the brain as well as the body

A study cited in the British Journal of Sports Medicine reported that exercise enhances both mood and creativity. Another study, reported in the Creativity Research Journal, confirmed that the increases in creativity were present both when the test was administered immediately and when it was administered two hours after the activity.

What kind of exercise? In the studies, it was ‘moderate aerobic exercise’ – in other words, enough to get your heart beating faster, but not so demanding that you’re gasping for air. This might include fast walking, jogging or using a cross-trainer or stepper, or even continuous vigorous vacuuming. Some creative people swear by Pilates, others by yoga.

Writer Dan Brown found another way of getting his blood moving: hanging upside-down using a pair of gravity boots. You strap yourself into the boots, then hang like a bat (hooks on the boots go over the bar that you’ve fixed to a sturdy door frame). The most strenuous part is getting into position, although you can also do some exercises while you’re hanging around. Other famous users include Bruce Wayne/Batman in the movie Batman, Richard Gere in American Gigolo and Uri Geller.

I tried this once, many years ago. The only thing I felt was that my eyeballs were about to pop out and shoot across the room. Maybe if I’d stayed upside-down a little longer I would have written The Da Vinci Code and now be very, very rich.

Beneficial effects come from less exotic approaches, of course. Just running in place for a few minutes, using a stationary bike or going up and down the nearest set of stairs will all get your blood flowing faster and more oxygen to your brain.

However you do it, regularly get moving and you’ll notice improvements in your creativity as well as your health.