Exercise your way to increased creativity and better writing

Last week I wrote a post Meditate your way to better writing where I talked about how meditation can quiet the mind and give your brain a “rest.” I argued that when the mind is emptied out of all the distractions that life throws at us, it makes room to be more creative and improve your writing.

I’m continuing this theme of healthy ways to better writing (a theme I did not plan ahead of time, it just kinda happened) by talking about exercise and how it can have a positive impact on your creativity and writing. Exercise is obviously one of the most healthy activities one can pursue as it helps keep you in shape and reduces the risk of a lot of diseases.

Exercise and the brain

Most people think of exercise as only helping the body (as I talked about above). But staying active also has a positive impact on the brain. In fact, exercise can do everything from reduce depression to helping you feel more alert. I found an article from the website Medicine.net called Train you Brain with Exercise:

“I like to say that exercise is like taking a little Prozac or a little Ritalin at just the right moment,” says John J. Ratey, MD, an associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and author of A User’s Guide to the Brain. “Exercise is really for the brain, not the body. It affects mood, vitality, alertness, and feelings of well-being.”

Christin Anderson, wellness and fitness coordinator at the University of San Francisco goes on to say:

“When one exercises,” Anderson says, “you can think more clearly, perform better, and your morale is better. This is pure science — stimulate your nervous system and function at a higher level.”

Thinking clearly. Improved performance. Increased morale. All of these can have a positive impact on your writing. Just being able to think clearly will help you in terms of organizing your writing, structure, ideas, editing and so forth. For example, if you’re writing a novel, being able to think clearly could help you organize your plot and create more rounded characters.

The good part about exercise is that it really doesn’t take all that much to reap its benefits. The article states that working out (whether it’s running, walking, swimming, etc. for 30 minutes 3 times per week is enough to keep your brain in top shape. Of course, the more you exercise the more benefits.

Exercise as a creative boost

People who exercise regularly often report a ‘meditative’ aspect to their fitness routines. As I wrote in a previous post, meditation and meditative-like states can really increase your creativity and improve writing. Furthermore, when one feels that sense of well-being and euphoria, stress and other worries seem to fade away, giving your brain a chance to focus on other things.

From my own experience with exercise, after I’m finished with a workout, I really do have more energy and feel ready to tackle any writing project – often with a fresh perspective. The only problem I have is keeping a regular exercise schedule.

No drugs needed!

There is a general stereotype about creative people that they often use drugs to enhance their art. While this might apply in the short-term, in the long run, people who use drugs to increase their creativity are only hurting themselves. How many famous artists, musicians and writers have died from complications of drug use? Quite a few. This goes without saying, but it’s hard to be creative when you’re dead.

The cool part about meditation and exercise is that the benefits increase over time by improving your health. A side-effect of drugs is that you need more and more of the drug to get the same results. With meditation and exercise, that doesn’t happen. And if it does, it’s only benefiting you.

Do you exercise on a regular basis? Has it improved your writing or other creative endeavors? Leave a comment below and share your experience.

Related posts

• Can altering your consciousness increase creativity?
• Meditate your way to better writing
• What can John Lennon Teach Us About Creativity?
• Real creativity is in the editing!
• Don’t watch the news, it kills creativity

Read More: Misc., Writing, Writing Tips