ISLAMABAD, Nov. 6,(ONLINE): No matter where you look, you can see evidence of creativity: painters, architects, dancers, Ted Lasso writers (oy!), fashion-forward friends, trick-play coaches, fast-acting surgeons, sand-castle builders, TikTokking fiddlers, Tweeters who can dream a meme, chefs who can figure out 42 unique uses of fig jam, editors who allow writers to use the words fig jam.<\/p>\n
Often, we assume that it\u2019s only the tortured artistes of the world who have been blessed with this skill set.
\n\u201cYou don\u2019t have to be a tortured soul to be creative,\u201d said Art Markman, PhD, an associate provost and professor of psychology and marketing at the University of Texas at Austin.<\/p>\n
We all use creativity to some degree as part of our daily rhythm of living, thinking, and doing.
\nIn fact, it\u2019s a mistake to pigeonhole \u201ccreativity\u201d as only fitting the capital-C creative endeavors, because creativity can be learned, developed, and nurtured \u2013 and regularly flexing your creative muscles benefits your brain and overall health.<\/p>\n
Brain Power
\nCan you make yourself smarter? Find out what the experts know about boosting brain power.
\nThe best part: Creativity is limitless. It can be LOUD and BOLD and PUBLIC, but it can also be a whisper, a soft approach to playing with your brain \u2013 without an end point, without a product, without a standing ovation or 10,000 likes.<\/p>\n
The key?
\n\u201cIt\u2019s the process of creation \u2013 the engagement \u2013 that improves creativity,\u201d said Christianne Strang, PhD, an assistant professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, who is a neuroscientist and an art therapist. <\/p>\n
The Link Between Creativity and Health
\nStrang says creativity does have an adaptive value: If our early ancestors had a problem (cornered by a snarling beast) and a creative solution (hmm, this necklace made of tusk shards makes for a convenient eye-gouging weapon), the better chance we had to survive. While that type of benefit certainly may still exist today for those in life-and-death situations, the adaptive health lesson is that the process of thinking creatively is indeed good for humans.<\/p>\n
Years ago, research about creativity and health would seem as implausible as AI writing half this story (it didn\u2019t!). But now there\u2019s a large body of research looking at relationships between creativity and brain health \u2013and the benefits may not stop there.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD, Nov. 6,(ONLINE): No matter where you look, you can see evidence of creativity: painters, architects, dancers, Ted Lasso writers (oy!), fashion-forward friends, trick-play coaches, fast-acting surgeons, sand-castle builders, TikTokking fiddlers, Tweeters who can dream a meme, chefs who can figure out 42 unique uses […]<\/p>\n
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