Why Nature Nurtures Creative Thinking

I have known for a long time that my ability to be creative is influenced greatly by my surroundings. If my office gets too cluttered with files and notes, I find myself struggling to think clearly, as well. And if I really get into a mental block over something, it often helps to go sit or walk outside, or (even better yet), go sit by the ocean for a while.
Big skies, and big oceans, have always both calmed and inspired me. Even when life was hard. Sitting by an ocean, listening to the sound of the waves crashing rhythmically on the sand and watching the endless pattern of water moving toward shore–building, tumbling and receding again into the depths of such a great expanse–has always given me a renewed sense of hope and possibility, even if I couldn’t explain exactly why.
I still don’t know exactly why I have that reaction. But it seems that not only do a lot of people have the same reaction … but there’s actually a scientific basis for my belief in the power of nature and broad expanses to change my perspective and unblock my creative mind.
The scientific term for the cause of this reaction is “embodied cognition,” and it refers to the subtle but significant impact of the body’s experience on the mind’s perceptions and thoughts. Hold something heavy, and you’re likely to perceive the subject at hand as more serious. Hold something warm, and you’re likely to perceive the person you’re talking to as warm, as well. It’s almost embarrassing, how vulnerable to suggestion our minds apparently are.
But be that as it may, it seems our bodies’ physical surroundings also influence how creative our minds are, as well. A group of psychologists recently published the results of a series of experiments that tested the impact of various physical environments on subjects’ ability to come up with creative solutions to problems. In one, two groups of subjects were given the same creative task–to come up with as many possible words that would fit with three “clue” words provided to them. One group, however, had to do the task while sitting in a 125-cubic-foot box. The other group got to sit in an open area. The group confined in the box came up with 20% fewer creative solutions.
The researchers also tested the ability of subjects to come up with creative uses for objects while following a rectangular path versus subjects who were allowed to walk in any direction or manner they wished. Again, those who were less constrained came up with 25% more creative ideas. And yes, this bodes ill for the entire concept of office cubicles.
But it also explains why pilots often say they come back from a flight with an inspired idea about how to solve some sticky business problem that had stymied them before their flight. The sky is certainly one of the most unrestricted environments a human can immerse themselves in. But I’m sure the same is true for sailors, scuba divers, and any other athlete whose sport immerses them in open expanses of wilderness or nature. What our bodies feel or experience is echoed in the limits or possibilities our minds perceive.
The good news, of course, is that this scientific “proof” of our need for open spaces and the opportunity to wander freely if we want to be at our creative best offers a really good excuse for leaving the office and heading out to the ocean, the hills, or the sky. Especially as summer approaches, with its tempting warmth, color, and rush of sensory delights. That afternoon at the beach, or hiking along a ridgeline, or flying low over the local landscape, might actually be far more productive than anything you could do in an office cubicle or meeting. Just say you’re heading out to go think outside the box for a while. It’s not only a good line … it has, as the saying goes, the added advantage of being true.