While many artistic people believe that it is going outdoors for a run that eases their 'block' in composition, scientific evidence suggests the physical exercise.
Musicians, artists and writers say running can aid their creative thinking. In The Quotable Runner, Mark Will-Weber includes “Bid me run, and I will strive with things impossible.” (Shakespeare, Julius Caesar).
Physical exercise, mood and creativity
Whether physical exercise could enhance creative thinking was debated in sports science 10-15 years ago. Some scientists found that exercise enhanced creativity occasionally. Other scientists researched the impact of various physical activities on mood and found that for some sports that a single session could improve an individual’s mood.
The mechanisms at work were complex – with inconclusive evidence about the relationship between mood and creativity. Some studies found that an elevated mood improved creativity while other studies found that feeling in a good mood depressed creativity.
Physical exercise enhances creativity
Scientific evidence of a definite link between exercise and creativity – giving some support to the stories of artistic runners – was reported in 1997. Psychologists found that exercising or dancing enhanced an individual’s creativity.
In a paper published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine (Volume 31, Issue 3), Steinberg and colleagues from Middlesex University, United Kingdom reported findings from a study engaging with the debate whether enhanced creativity after exercise was due to an individual’s improved mood or the exercise.
Two study groups – a group of individuals who exercised as an aerobic workout or aerobic dance and a group of individuals who watched a ‘neutral’ video – were compared on psychological measures for mood and creative thinking. Findings were that mood and creativity were improved by physical exercise independently of each other.
Running for creative breakthroughs
The Runner’s World Guide to Running states that running ‘helps you to reach creative breakthroughs’ (p.25). Psychological research has found that bodily movement can enhance creative thinking. This supports the belief held by many men and women that going for a run can help them problem solve and overcome mental blocks. Running as a creative outlet can also bring wider benefits to health and wellbeing.
Benefits of creativity
Studies have shown that there are several wider health and social benefits to creativity. Most creativity experts do agree that the benefits of creative expression include:
- Concentration on creative works strengthen the immune system
- Creativity releases emotions, reduces pain and contributes to repair of physical injury
- Personalised creations – of music, art, storytelling and writing – can lift self-esteem
If running – as one example of physical exercise – can enhance your creativity regardless of your mood and bring such rewards, best foot forward.
