Im an Exercise PhysiologistHeres Why You Shouldnt Worry About Cortisol Spikes When You Do HIIT Workouts.

Elliptical vs Treadmill: Which Cardio Machine Is Right For You?

Does Rowing Count as Strength Training?

alt

Heres What Experts Had to Say

Our editors independently select these products.

To tap in, it helps to understand the creative process.

Second, we incubate.

woman sweating in the gym

president of theSociety for the Neuroscience of Creativityand associate professor of psychology at theUniversity of San Francisco

Finally, we refine, edit, or verify the idea, she says.

But that second stepthe mind-wandering oneis where exercise and shower time come in clutch.

Working out has undeniablebenefits for your brain, including creativity.

Woman walking on a treadmill at the gym.

moments of insight, Dr. Viskontas says.

moment when a great idea pops into mind, Dr. Viskontas says.

It essentially gets us out of our heads so new thoughts can surface.

Full body female athlete in sportswear using rowing machine during fitness workout in gym.

Does Dancing Count as Cardio?

Heres What Experts Say

Glute Bridge vs Hip Thrust: Which Is The Better Booty Booster?

Im a Master TrainerHeres Why You Shouldnt Skip Your Post-Run Stretches.

Happy woman dancing and listening to music near a green empty wall outdoor in the city.

president of theSociety for the Neuroscience of Creativityand associate professor of psychology at theUniversity of San Francisco

Pairing that sensation with the post-workout mental clarity creates openness to new ideas, Steele says.

Choose the right workout

Certain types of exercise are better than others in getting creative juices flowing.

It cant be so engrossing that you need 100 percent focus, Dr. Viskontas says.

Healthy female training in the gym, performing a hip thrust.

There needs to be some room for mind wandering or imagination.

This can come in handy if youre at work or school and need a quick jolt of inspiration.

I use running a lot to do my most creative thinking, Dr. Viskontas.

A young black woman doing post-run stretches in the park on the road amidst green grass and trees.

Rominger, Christian, et al.

1, 2020, pp.

1-9, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-68632-9.

Accessed 1 Aug. 2024.

Rominger, Christian et al.

Acute and Chronic Physical Activity Increases Creative Ideation Performance: A Systematic Review and Multilevel Meta-analysis.Sports medicine openvol.

2022, doi:10.1186/s40798-022-00444-9

Tan, Seng, et al.

1, 2019, pp.

109-119, https://doi.org/10.1002/jocb.170.

Accessed 1 Aug. 2024.

Yamaoka, Akina, and Shintaro Yukawa.

Mind Wandering in Creative Problem-solving: Relationships with Divergent Thinking and Mental Health.PLoS ONE, vol.

4, 2020, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0231946.

Accessed 1 Aug. 2024.

Irving, Zachary C., et al.

Aga, Kohei, et al.

The Effect of Acute Aerobic Exercise on Divergent and Convergent Thinking and Its Influence by Mood.Brain Sciences, vol.

5, 2021, https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci11050546.

Accessed 1 Aug. 2024.

Yeh, Chin, et al.

The Influence of Natural Environments on Creativity.Frontiers in Psychiatry, vol.

13, 2022, p. 895213, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.895213.

Accessed 1 Aug. 2024.

Eskine, Katherine E., et al.

Effects of Music Listening on Creative Cognition and Semantic Memory Retrieval.Psychology of Music, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1177/0305735618810792.

Accessed 1 Aug. 2024.

…

Got it, you’ve been added to our email list.