Creative people have known for years that a link exists between exercise and solving problems. Charles Dickens orchestrated many of his novels after his amble through the streets of London. Frank Lloyd Wright engineered landmark designs after his daily saunter. Many people have devised answers to their dilemmas after mopping floors or scrubbing windows. Any physical activity can produce a flash of insight or offer a creative solution. While studies are not definitive, researchers are beginning to understand this synergism between exercise and creative problem solving. Scientists have documented that exercise does several things. First, it keeps muscles, including the heart, in good condition. Next, workouts burn calories that might end up as fat. Additionally, an exercise regimen strengthens the immune system and wards off sickness. Finally, proper exercise promotes a sense of well being and reduces the effects of stress. Now add this latest finding: Exercise triggerseven accelerates the brains problem-solving abilities. Recent studies at the University of Illinois have found that exercise increases the number of blood vessels nourishing the brain. It was shown after four weeks of running on a treadmill, white rats averaged a 20% increase in the number of blood vessels servicing the brain. This additional brain nourishment speeds up our thinking. There is one problem however; rats seem to enjoy the exercise treadmill more than humans do. Exercise can also put a person in a "flow state" where time seems to fly and worries vanish. In such a state of mind, things are on automatic. While your body is working your mind is at play. As a result exercise relieves pressures, frees up thinking and allows the mind to come up with new solutions to problems. If "an apple a day keeps the doctor away", then it may be possible that "a little exercise a day keeps the problems away", or at least under control. |
