Wit and wisdom: Five ways to boost your creativity

Have you ever had yourself staring at the screen for hours but are struggling to hit the hammer on the nail? Have you ever suffered from a creative block and been stuck wondering what exactly is wrong, and how you can get yourself out of it? Of course you have, I mean, who hasn’t!

Being able to think outside the box is a learnable skill. As compiled from the Men’s Health magazine and 99u.com, here are five ways to exercise and stimulate your creative thinking.

Hold on tight:



Squeezing your left hand tight for about two minutes forms pathways in the right side — the creative side of your brain, say Israeli scientists. The right cerebral hemisphere deals more with artistic and imaginative activities as well as memory. A study released on April 24, 2013, by Ruth Propper and colleagues from Montclair State University found that hand clenching increases neuronal activity and boosts creativity immediately.

Let your mind wander:



You’ll achieve more innovative ideas if you let your mind drift between tasks, reports Psychological Science. A wandering mind may allow your brain to search more widely for connections that could trigger a ‘eureka’ moment. While research has shown that daydreaming can help with creativity, it is important to note that studies have revealed that daydreaming only works when you’ve already committed effort towards a project. So make sure, no slacking!

Airplane mode:



We have to admit, our cellphones are a major distraction during our more constructive hours of the day. Cutting back on technology for four days (not impossible) improves creative thinking by almost 50 percent, reports Goldsmiths College London. Take a break from the constant buzzing of gossip and guaranteed more productive ideas will give birth.

Get hands on:



Recent research illustrates how writing by hand engages the brain in learning, during one study at Indiana University published this year. Abandon your keyboard and get your pen and paper out — letting the flow of ideas out manually supports creativity and memory, say researchers at Ottawa University. By no means does this include your iPad stylus, we mean business — start doodling!

Nap it out:



Your ideal snooze length to enhance mental performance is 10 minutes. A new study has shed light on the neurological underpinnings of the ‘power nap’, a short nap during the middle of the day refreshes the mind and often helps illuminate the solution to thorny problems. The new findings suggest that naps help the brain solve problems by enhancing creative thinking. The study was conducted by researchers from Georgetown University, and its findings were presented at the Neuroscience 2012 conference in New Orleans.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 15^th, 2014.

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