Walking boosts your creativity

Earlier this year, a study conducted at Stanford University found that walking can boost creative thinking. A lot of people, especially those in the creative industries, writers and philosophers, have had a hunch about this for a long time, but now it's official. A person's creative output is increased by an average of 60% when taking a walk and shortly after the walk. And interestingly, this could be walking in the fresh air in the park as well as walking on a treadmill! So Nietzsche was right: you have all your best ideas when walking.

Forward-thinking tech companies have already cottoned on to the concept. Steve Jobs apparently used to conduct 'walking meetings' and at Facebook HQ, a lot of meetings are held standing up.

There's more research to be done on why this is the case. The scientists conducting the experiment have speculated that it may be because walking improves your mood, or because it helps to distract the brain from rigid thought processes and 'allow it to break through some of its own hyper-rational filters'.

In any case, it's great news in that it will hopefully inspire more people to get up out of their office chair or their sofa at home and get walking! Of course, we strongly advocate the outdoor walking type rather than the treadmill version. There's so much to see and absorb when you step out into the fresh air - whether you're in a city or the countryside. Native species of flora, local culinary specialties, historical points of interest, awe-inspiring architecture, street art, breathtaking vistas, hidden waterfall plunge pools you can swim in, art galleries, rare birds of prey... The list is endless!

So now you've another perfect excuse to book a walking holiday... Perhaps you'll come up with a creative idea that will make you your millions! Here at The Carter Company we offer ready-made UK walking tours in The Cotswolds, along The Thames, in Oxford, London and The Chilterns. We also design numerous tailor-made walking holidays, so please get in touch if you've got something specific in mind or are simply in need of some inspiration! We'd be delighted to assist.