get out of the building

From one study in the Journal of Experimental Psychology:

Walking, whether it was inside or outside, raised subjects’ creative output by 60% on average, compared with sitting still, regardless of location.

Why? As the The Guardian reports:

Physical activity that isn’t mentally demanding (think easy walk or run, rather than hockey match or gymnastics) can induce a state of “transient hypofrontality”, in which activity within the prefrontal cortex – the part of the brain responsible for “higher order” cognitive processes, such as paying attention, decision making and reasoning – is temporarily dampened down, allowing your thoughts to float free.

My new phrase for the week:

“I’m heading out to pursue a state of transient hypofrontality.”​

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