Innovation and Physiology.

By Jonathan Halls
 

IN THIS ARTICLE:

• Physiology has both a positive and negative impact on creativity

• Factors such as fatigue and stress stunt creativity difficult

• Diet, alcohol and exercise are things we have more immediate control over to affect our ability to be creative or innovative

Your physiology can have a profound affect on your creative potential. Unfortunately, modern life actually works against many people having the optimum physiological condition for creativity.

Issues to consider are:

·         Fatigue

·         Diet & Exercise

·         Stress

·         Alcohol & drugs

Sleep or fatigue

Fatigue makes it hard to think and saps our motivation.

It’s important to get the 7 or 8 hours of sleep doctors recommend to make sure your mind is alert.  An alert brain is your imagination’s best friend.

This may seem increasingly difficult in today’s 24-hour society. However, the importance of sleep is not just because we need energy to be creative.

There are two reasons we need extra sleep.  First we need energy and alertness to be imaginative. Second, sleep gives our minds space to dream.

During our sleeping time our minds sift through the experiences of our day and unconsciously tries to solve them.

You may have found yourself waking up in the middle of the night with an idea.  This is precisely the time you need pen and paper to catch it.
 

Diet and exercise

The skills of imagination and critique come from the brain which is an organic structure.

Your brain needs to be properly fed good quality, healthy food. 

Feed your brain with plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables.  Avoid processed foods that lack the nutrients of fresh vegetables.

Also steer clear of heavy foods that require extra effort to digest.

Processed and fatty foods re-direct your body’s energy from the head to stomach as it processes and digests your food.  This is why you often feel tired after lunch.

There is wide consensus that some foods will stimulate your brain function better than others. These include oily fishes such as sardines and salmon, and natural proteins such as nuts.

 

Stress

It may come as no surprise that stress inhibits innovation.  It can lower your level of concentration and stifle your imagination.  It can also lower your ability to critique ideas and plan them.

Some people find that stress actually gives them motivation especially in the circumstance of deadlines.

Working in broadcasting and newspapers, I know a lot of people who actually thrive on the stress of a deadline.

However, while the stress of a deadline may get the adrenalin surging through our system to heighten our powers of awareness, it can also cause muscle tremors.

These in turn lower memory capacity which is tied up with cognitive information processing in our brains.

The lesson? Avoid stress if you want to unleash your creative spirit.

Alcohol

We’ve all heard stories about alcohol fuelling the creative juices of authors and artists.

However, scientific research actually debunks this theory which is probably more of an urban myth than anything else.

Alcohol does not spur on imaginative powers, nor does it enable the brain to clearly critique an idea.

Alcohol is a depressant which slows your body’s cognitive and motor functions and blocks inhibition.

You may be thinking that as alcohol lowers inhibition it must be ideal for spurring on your imagination. 

But alcohol slows motor and cognitive function.  This counteracts any benefits you may experience from freeing up your inhibitions.

Research has also shown that alcohol inhibits the cognitive processes of abstracting, conceptual formation, learning and memory retention.