Streamlining Creative Thought

Marily Oppezzo, a behavioral and learning scientist, shows how simply going for a walk has the power to increase one's ability to come up with new ideas in her talk on creative thinking.

Although the impact of exercise in this regard has been well known for quite some time, Oppezzo specifically considers how it can help one's brainstorming process. To get a better understanding of how this works, Oppezzo invited groups of participants to think of unique ways to use everyday objects. While one group came up with ideas while seated, the others did so while walking on treadmills. What she discovered was that those brainstorming while on the treadmills were able to come up with about twice as many ideas, and were more creative even while seated after engaging in exercise.

With her talk on creative thinking, Oppezzo shows that everyone is capable of coming up with fresh ideas by having a goal in mind and allowing their body to energize their mind, making it an accessible and effective method that's easy to integrate into one's everyday routine.