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While you’re in the shower, absentmindedly scrubbing your toes, a sudden insightful thought may strike you. It might help you solve a problem at work or lead to a more profound realization, such as the meaning of life or the mystery behind the 23 flavors in Dr. Pepper. These “aha!” moments aren’t confined to a bottle of scented shampoo. The shower environment itself plays a significant role in stimulating creative insights. Plus, it helps you get clean too.
“Mind Your Mindless Tasks”
Research shows that you are more likely to have a creative breakthrough when you are doing something monotonous, such as fishing, exercising, or showering. Since these activities do not require much thought, your mind goes on autopilot, freeing up your unconscious to work on something else. This allows your mind to wander, leaving your brain to engage in free association and come up with creative ideas.
Daydreaming like this relaxes the prefrontal cortex, which is the brain’s command center for decisions, goals, and behavior. It also activates the brain’s “default mode network” (DMN), clearing the pathways that connect different regions of your brain. When your cortex is relaxed and your DMN is activated, you can make new, creative connections that your conscious mind might have dismissed.
The ideas you have in the shower are often different from the ones you have at work because you tend to be more closed-minded in a work environment. When you’re deeply focused on a task, your brain is more likely to censor unconventional and creative solutions. This focused mindset can be helpful for meeting deadlines and maintaining concentration, but it may also limit your ability to think creatively.
Strange as it sounds, your brain is not most active when you’re focused on a task. Research shows it’s more active when you let go of the leash and allow it to wander. Shelley Carson at Harvard found that highly creative people share one amazing trait—they’re easily distracted. And that’s the beauty of a warm shower. It distracts you, makes you defocus, and lets your brain roam. It activates your DMN and encourages wacky ideas to bounce around. So when the lather rinses off, your light bulb switches on.
And Relax!
But what distinguishes the shower from a mundane board meeting? Doesn’t your mind wander there as well?
Yes, indeed, you probably have the doodles to prove it. Taking a shower is a relaxing experience. It’s a small, safe, enclosed space where you feel comfortable. You may even feel comfortable enough to be in the buff! Moreover, you are likely to be alone, which makes it your only alone time of the day. It’s your chance to get away from any stresses outside.
When you’re that relaxed, your brain may release everyone’s favorite happy-go-lucky neurotransmitter, dopamine. A flush of dopamine can boost your creative juices. Additionally, more alpha waves will ripple through your brain—the same waves that appear when you’re meditating or happily spacing out. Alphas accompany your brain’s daydreamy default setting and may encourage the creative fireworks.
Wait! There’s more! The time you shower also plays into the equation. Most of us wash up either in the morning or at night, when we’re most tired. According to the journal “Thinking and Reasoning,” that’s our creative peak. The groggy morning fog weakens your brain’s censors, keeping you from blocking the irrelevant, distracting thoughts that make great ideas possible. It’s likely that your shower gushes during your creative sweet spot.
When you’re distracted, relaxed, and tired, your prefrontal cortex relaxes, your default network activates, your dopamine levels rise, and your alpha waves flow. The shower provides the ideal conditions for a brilliant idea to strike.
Remember these tips to increase your creative output and maximize knowledge during incubation periods:
1. Keep a notebook with you at all times, even in the shower. Consider using a waterproof notepad for this purpose.
2. Schedule time for disconnection and distraction, known as “the outer-inner technique.”
3. Challenge your brain by making tasks really difficult. This can help make other tasks seem easier in comparison.
By effectively using what’s already happening in your unconscious mind, you can learn to “busy yourself with mindless tasks” instead of blindly searching for a flash of brilliance.
