Why Exercise is an Artist’s Best Friend

Every morning, before I write, I do two things: I get a good workout in, then make a pot of tea.

I’ll explain the tea next week.

Let’s talk exercise now.

I’ve seen a lot of scientific studies that link exercise to enhanced creativity. Indeed, one of the most prolific, and successful, authors I know routinely runs 6 miles every morning before sitting down to write.

Oh, yeah, and he’s well past seventy years old.

We can do this, people.

Studies confirm two important reasons why exercise matters to an artist. The first study I ever found said that after thirty minutes of aerobic exercise, the areas of the brain thought to influence creativity are lit up like a Christmas tree for the next four hours.  Rice University tested this same theory, and found that aerobic exercise enhances creativity for two hours.

Let’s split the difference.

Get a workout in before you write, and you will experience much greater creativity for the next three hours.

A daily routine of exercise will impact your creative powers as well.  Daily exercise conditions the brain as well as the body:  “Cognitive psychologist Professor Lorenza Colzato of Leiden University in The Netherlands, found that those who exercised for four times a week were able to think more creatively than those with a more sedentary lifestyle.”

See the full article here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/10491702/Lacking-inspiration-Exercise-found-to-boost-creativity.html

So get moving, and then get to creating. Exercise is one habit that pays unexpected dividends to an artist.

Next week: the pot of tea. Why. How. What.

You might be surprised…