Why Do We Get Our Best Ideas in the Shower?

Besides singing my mighty heart out in the shower to decade old Britney Spear’s music, I happen to be doing a lot more in the shower. Subconsciously, of course. Singing in the shower is such an international phenomenon because we feel incredibly comfortable in the privacy of our enclosed shower (comfortable enough to take our clothes off, at least).

What else do you do in the shower besides the obvious body washing? Think. You probably think… a lot. We feel safe enough in the coziness of our shower for our mind’s creativity to actively stir up. This is where we live out our most wild imaginations and visualize our dreams. This is where we think about things we truly want to do.

The science of creativity explains that a warm shower is the perfect setting for the best ideas to arrive in our genius little minds.

Humans are more likely to engage in creative thinking when they’re doing something monotonous like: exercising, listening to music, fishing or showering. These routines don’t require much thinking (it’s routine) therefore, you flip to autopilot. Your unconscious mind starts wandering away into the land of free thinking. Truth be told, I happen to get a majority of my article ideas while I’m washing all that hairspray out or lifting weights at the gym.

You’re ideas in the shower are so different from those elsewhere. When one is thinking hard at the office or working intensely on a school project, it boosts their prefrontal cortex control. This tightens your focus and helps you met those tight deadlines. However, it hinders creative thoughts to roam around in your mind.

Shelley Carson at Harvard University found that the most creative people are easily distracted-that’s because, as odd as it sounds, our mind is not most active when we’re focusing-it’s most lively when we let go and allow it to roam free.

A warm shower is like meditation-you’re at a completely relaxed state. Our attention is allowed to turn inward and we’re able to make insightful connections.

Soothing activities contribute to an increase in dopamine flow. This gets your creative juices flowing and allows for more alpha waves, oscillating electrical voltages in the brain, that navigate your day dreamy default setting.

We usually shower in the morning or nighttime which is when we’re most exhausted. According to the journal Thinking and Reasoning, our creative peak is when we’re tired. Since our brain censors are weakened, it’s harder for us to block out irrelevant, distracting thoughts that could potentially lead to creative ideas.

Megan Macedo jokes that she runs her business from the shower and her family often scolds her for taking too long in the bathtub. She says she can’t help it-that’s where the money making is taking place. “In environments where we feel safe, uninhibited and empowered-for me it’s in the shower, for you it might be while you’re walking or swimming or driving-we become the best version of ourselves. We think about the things we really want to do. We get in touch with what’s important to us and what we value in life. We think about what can work rather than what can’t. We think with our heart not just our brain.”

She continues onto say that we’re in a fantasy land while showering however, right when we step out, we soon face reality again. We get scared, we doubt ourselves and that vulnerability stirs up again. We allow ourselves to forget about some of our active imaginative thoughts because we fear failure. That ideas was so absurd…how can it possibly be attainable anyway, right?

But you know what? That outrageous idea might just be the new it factor in achieving your dream. Don’t be scared. Act upon (almost) every idea you gained in the shower.

“We all have amazing ideas, we all know what to do deep down, we all actually know what the solution to our problem is. It’s not ideas we’re lacking, its guts” Macedo shares.

Go: chase your dreams. Make those vivid, bold thoughts come to life. Learn the rules of life and play it better than anyone else. From a former cheerleader to you all, I sincerely believe in you. I have many many many many aspirations and I know you do too. What are they and how do you plan to get there?

Xoxo,

Chrissy

Sources:

http://mentalfloss.com/article/52586/why-do-our-best-ideas-come-us-shower

http://twiggal.com/1558/why-i-run-my-business-from-the-shower-and-why-you-should-too/

http://lifehacker.com/5987858/the-science-behind-creative-ideas

http://chriskresser.com/is-your-daily-shower-making-you-sick