6 Hacks That Will Boost Your Creativity and Brain Power
All you need is a time out
Adapted from Peak Performance
Taking a break from the stresses of daily life can reboot your brain and leave you with with a brand new outlook—even after a long day at the office.
Related: 10 Warning Signs of Burnout and Excessive Stress
Consider these tips from our book, Peak Performance, to increase your creativity and brainpower in just a few short steps. All you need is a time out.
1. Take a break
Have the courage to takes breaks throughout the day, especially when you are stuck or feeling unbearable stress; the more intense the work, the more frequent the breaks.
Related: 3 Workday Break Myths, Busted
2. Go on a walk
Take a walk lasting at least 6 minutes to increase creativity and decrease the ill effects of sitting (and enjoy these other benefits of talking a daily walking break). If you can, walk outdoors, but even taking a few laps around the office provides big benefits.
3. Surround yourself with green space
Being in nature, or even just looking at pictures of nature, helps with the transition from stress to rest and promotes creative thinking. In fact, surrounding yourself in green space is one of many ways to naturally relieve your anxiety.
Related: 7 Ways to Enjoy Nature
4. Zen out
Begin with a few mindful breaths, focusing only on the breath (try this belly breathing exercise for beginners). Then, consider shifting to open-monitoring meditation, scanning your body and shifting your awareness to all of its sensations.
Never tried it before? Follow this easy step-by-step beginner's guide to meditation.
5. Indulge in a nap
When we take short naps, the part of our brain that is always on when we are awake has the opportunity to take a break. Even if you don't actually experience the sensation of falling asleep, simply closing your eyes can help switch your active brain off, allowing it to recover. Keep your naps to less than 30 minutes to avoid the groggy feeling later.
Related: Why You Should Take a Midday Snooze
6. Hang out with your friends
At the end of hard work—be it with your body or your mind—surrounding yourself with friends in a laid-back environment fundamentally alters your biology from stress to rest.
Brad Stulberg is a former consultant, an avid athlete and outdoor enthusiast, and a health and science writer who focuses on human performance. Steve Magness is a coach to some of the top distance runners in the world and has been on the forefront of innovation in sport thanks to his integration of science and practice. They are the authors of Peak Performance: Elevate Your Game, Avoid Burnout, and Thrive with the New Science of Success.
The article 6 Hacks to Boost Your Creativity and Brainpower originally appeared on Rodale Wellness.
Steve Magness is a performance coach who has worked with Olympians and professional sports teams. He is the author of Win the Inside Game: How to Move from Surviving to Thriving, and Free Yourself Up to Perform and Do Hard Things: Why We Get Resilience Wrong and The Surprising Science of Real Toughness.
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