Regular Exercise Can Boost Your Creativity

By Amy Sunshine

For much of my life, I thought of myself as “not the fitness type.” I hung out at backyard rock shows and poetry readings—but certainly not at the gym. Eventually, I came to realize that being artistic and being athletic are not at odds. In fact, quite the opposite is true.

Exercise can provide benefits in a wide variety of ways, including those that touch on the physical, mental, emotional, and even the spiritual aspects of the self. 

Additionally, exercise can also provide real benefits to your creative capabilities. And there is plenty of evidence to support this claim.

Study Shows Connection Between Exercise and Increased Creativity

A study in Nature: Scientific Reports measures the relationship between everyday bodily movement and “creativity in the verbal and figurative domain.” While previous studies had shown connections between exercise and increased creativity in lab settings, this study specifically asked participants to exercise over a five day period and return to the lab to complete tests to demonstrate whether or not they were experiencing increased levels of creativity as a result of the increased levels of exercise. 

The authors of the study did indeed find a correlation between regular exercise and a measurable increase in creativity, writing that their “[f]indings revealed that creativity, positive-activated affect, and everyday bodily movement were associated with each other.”

Why does exercise increase creativity? There are several possibilities. 

As previously stated, exercise has well-documented benefits to mood and emotional wellbeing, so it is possible that exercise makes a person more creative by putting them into a better mood, one that is more conducive to creative activity. Interestingly, according to the British Journal of Sports Medicine the evidence supporting this theory is inconclusive. Additionally, the aforementioned Nature: Scientific Reports study found that more vigorous exercise made study participants more creative but did not necessarily make them more happy, suggesting that the connection between exercise and creativity did not run directly through elevated mood.

Another possible, related theory is that the same sorts of neurochemical reactions—such as increased levels of dopamine in the brain—that are among the driving factors of the mood-elevating aspects of exercise are also affecting creativity. This is not quite the same as saying that elevated mood is increasing creativity, but indicating that the same neurochemical effects of exercise are producing similar results for both mood and creativity. Rather than the increased creativity being a product of elevated mood, both the creativity and mood are increasing in parallel. 

Indeed, exercise can increase dopamine levels in the brain and there is some evidence that dopamine plays a role in creativity. But there is no conclusive evidence showing that this is definitely the main cause of the connection between exercise and creativity.

Anecdotal Experiences: the Shower Principle, Harnessing Energy

Another possible explanation for the relationship between creativity and exercise is not due to a physical, chemical, or emotional process but rather a cognitive one: the Shower Principle. 

Best (and possibly originally) articulated in an episode of 30 Rock, the Shower Principle is the idea that, as Jack Donaghy explains, “moments of inspiration that occur when the brain is distracted from the problem at hand–for example, when you’re showering.” 

This sort of sudden cognitive inspiration is a key element of successful creative activities and exercise can certainly function as the sort of distraction that is needed to successfully execute the Shower Principle.

From a personal standpoint, I can draw on my own experiences to see how exercise could boost creativity, as there are structural similarities in how one approaches both sorts of activity. In addition to being a certified personal trainer and having an MA in Psychology, I have two degrees in creative writing, including an MFA in Poetry. I always have a creative project in the works, and recently directed a short film. I can speak from personal experience when it comes to what it takes to be creatively productive. My subjective experience is that exercise absolutely enhances my creativity. 

A key element of success in both creative endeavors and exercise is the ability to generate energy, harness it, and focus it toward your goal. It is certainly conceivable that being able to do this in the gym teaches a person how to do the same thing in a more traditionally creative setting.

Exercise and Creativity Both Require Patience and Practice to Achieve Mastery

Another important similarity between both exercise and creative endeavors is that they take time—both in terms of learning to master them and in terms of maintaining the practice of doing them. Indeed, a significant part of the pleasure of each is the regularity of the practice and how that allows one to learn, improve, grow, and work through things.

The author Joyce Carol Oates wrote in the New York Times about how her regular practice of running allowed her to work through ideas and solve problems in her writing. This is, in part, an example of the Shower Principle but it is also an example of something what cognitive scientists specializing in research on creativity call incubation. In this framing, what most deeply connects the creative work to the mastery of exercise is the regular practice of both.

Book an Appointment or Consultation Now

There is likely no one single reason why exercise increases creativity. Indeed, it is likely that everything discussed in this article, as well as things we have not covered, plays some role. But the evidence for there being a relationship between regular exercise and creativity is strong. And this is one of the many reasons why one should consider adopting a regular exercise practice now.

As a personal trainer with a background in psychology and creative writing, the creativity-boosting aspects of exercise speak very strongly to me—and to many of my clients. I welcome artists, and am here to help you enhance your creative potential. 

The value of a regular practice is incredibly important, and it is something that I try to impart on my clients as part of the holistic benefits of developing a regular exercise routine. To discuss this further or book an initial appointment with me, click here.