It’s summer! Even though June is off to a rainy and somewhat dreary start, keep in mind the benefits of getting outside and keeping active. Among the many benefits, it turns out, is a boost in creativity. Here’s an article from Conservation Magazine (of Minnesota):
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| BWCA, Lake One |
A new study has confirmed what you’ve probably suspected for awhile: Spending time in nature without computers, phones, and other electronic devices makes people more creative.
Most city-dwellers and suburbanites can attest that our interactions with nature are declining, while our attachment to technology is on the rise. The number of national park visits per capita has dropped by one-fifth in the last couple of decades, and people are spending less of their recreational time in nature. Researchers had investigated the effect of nature exposure on activities such as proof-reading and attention span, but they hadn’t yet examined possible links with creative problem solving.
In a study published in PLoS ONE, 56 people completed 4- to 6-day hikes in Alaska, Colorado, Maine, or Washington. Participants were not allowed to bring any electronic gadgets with them. Twenty-four of the hikers took a test that measured their creativity and problem-solving skills before the trip began, while the other 32 people took the test on the fourth day of hiking.
People who took the test after hiking scored roughly 50 percent higher than those who took the test before hiking, the study authors report. The improvement suggests that “there is a real, measurable cognitive advantage to be realized if we spend time truly immersed in a natural setting,” the team writes.
The researchers couldn’t say whether the creative bump was caused by an increase in nature exposure or a decrease in technology use. But since the two usually go together, they write, “they may be considered to be different sides of the same coin.” — Roberta Kwok | 13 December 2012
Source: Atchley, R.A., D.L. Strayer, and P. Atchley. 2012. Creativity in the wild: Improving creative reasoning through immersion in natural settings. PLoS ONE doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0051474.
Author: KateBitters
Kate Bitters is a Minneapolis-based author and freelance writer. She is the author of Elmer Left, Ten Thousand Lines, and He Found Me. One of her proudest/nerdiest moments was when Neil Gaiman read one of her short stories on stage at the Fitzgerald Theater.
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