Did You Know Your Best Ideas Occur In the Shower?
Looking for the best spot in your house to do some thinking? A pensive place full of peace and quiet, where the brain can shut down for a few moments after a long and stressful day? Well, take a trip to your bathroom, turn on the hot water and get in your shower!
You heard that right. Your shower is an optimal location to find some of your best ideas. According to studies, a person has a higher propensity to develop creative thoughts and ideas when the brain is most at ease.
Think about it: you’re relaxed, distracted, and happy from the dopamine flowing in your brain. That combination can create a wheelhouse for solving one’s problems through new creativity.
Shower thinking doesn’t happen by accident, either. In science, the areas of your brain that awaken when you’re not focused are defined as the default mode network. When you passively think about things, daydream, or find your mind wandering, the default mode network is active.
Reflect on the time you spend in the shower. The water trickling down soothes you. The steam from the heat creates a cloud. It’s easy to be transported to a dream-like trance where suddenly your troubles melt away for a few moments, and your focus shifts. As the brain relaxes, you lose awareness of your surroundings.
Unlike sleep, where you enter a REM state, showering requires relatively unconscious physical activity. Lathering soap or applying shampoo to all parts of your body keeps active parts of your mind involved. So when both your default mode network the parts of your brain that need physical activity are engaged, the setting is ripe for creativity.
As you recall the day and contemplate your troubles in your shower, it’s natural for your brain to come up with unique solutions. Now the only problem is remembering to write those ideas down before they go down the drain!
(Read more about the science behind shower thoughts here and here. The details are very cool!)
And if you’re in need of a new shower, give your bathroom a modern, elegant look with a frameless shower from Maryland Frameless Showers!