Walking increases creativity

Researchers from Stanford University measured people's creativity levels when walking and when sitting. The comparison showed that “walkers” produced 60% more ideas than “sitters”.

Many people claim that they find it easier to think when walking. Experts confirm: walking really does give a boost to creativity.

Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg were known to schedule meetings on the go. Creative people often pace back and forth across the room, wanting to speed up the creative process.

Psychologists Marilee Oppezzo and Daniel Schwartz of Stanford University found that walking, both indoors and outdoors, actually improves the creative thinking process by about half.

And the flow of creative thoughts doesn't stop for a long time, even when a person sits down after a walk and gets to work.

The study involved 176 college students. Each of them had to perform a number of tasks requiring a creative approach.

The subjects were put in various conditions: they were asked to perform the tasks while sitting or pacing back and forth across the room, then asked to go out and sit in nature or walk around the campus.

Psychologists tested different combinations: two tasks in a row while sitting, or perform one while sitting and the other while moving.

On average, volunteers were 60 percent more successful at creative tasks while walking or walking back and forth across the room than while sitting.   

However, the walk only had a positive effect on tasks that required creativity. When subjects had to focus on a specific task that required mental analysis, walking was more likely to interfere.