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Why do we get great ideas in the shower?
Thanks for asking.
Have you ever noticed that you tend to get your best ideas in the shower?
If so, you're not alone.
A 2014 study conducted by cognitive psychologist Scott Barry Kaufman found that 72 of people get creative ideas while showering.
So it's really not a coincidence.
Science has shown that taking a shower is actually a perfect combination of a few factors which allow for optimal creativity.
Struggling to solve a particularly complicated problem at work or in your studies?
Need to come up with the perfect Christmas gift idea or plan an event?
Try jumping in the shower.
You'd be surprised how often it's more effective than continuing to grind away or hoping for a flash of inspiration.
Do hormones have anything to do with it?
Yes, and dopamine in particular.
By now, regular listeners will be familiar with this happy hormone, which is triggered by things like exercising, listening to music or taking a nice warm shower.
It helps us relax and get into a positive state of mind that allows us to make insightful connections.
It can broaden our scope of thought to include remote ideas and long-shot possibilities.
But dopamine on its own isn't the only cause.
After all, dopamine is triggered in many other scenarios where we aren't creative.
The distraction part is also key.
Taking a shower lets you take a break from working hard at a problem and ideas from your subconscious can come into your conscious mind.
This also applies to a range of other daily tasks like brushing your teeth walking, gardening or washing the dishes.
Basically anything habitual where you don't need to focus too much or too little.
We carry these tasks out in a pretty automatic way, with just enough stimulation for our creative juices to get flowing.
Does this state of mind have a name?
Indeed it does.
It's known as the default mode network, or DMN for short.
It connects a number of regions in the brain and becomes more active when our minds are wandering or we're doing passive tasks that don't require a lot of focus, like the ones we've been talking about.
You could compare it to standby mode on a computer, or autopilot for example.
You could be forgiven for thinking that your brain isn't doing a lot during such moments, but in fact it's highly active.
Taking a shower allows us to engage the default mode network.
It lets us think in a more chaotic way than the focused analytical and logical frame of mind we're in when doing demanding tasks.
That's why it's important to take breaks at work, not only for physical rest, but also to stimulate creativity.
One of the drawbacks of the always-on hyper-connected multimedia age is that we have less time for that.
Unplugging and carving out time for mind-wandering is important.
We should do it on a regular basis really, as it's a worthy investment in creativity.
There you have it.
Now you know why we get great ideas in the shower.
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