When you work on math problems, essays or logic tests you're using your left brain. However, the right side of your brain processes more instinctive and visual thoughts and ideas. That means artistic, creative and musical activities should form part of your right-brain workout. And, as with any muscle or skill, your creativity may improve the more you exercise.
Quick-Fire Creativity Exercises
In their book "Brain Workout," authors Arthur Winter and Ruth Winter suggest that most of us have suppressed creative abilities. You can nurture this creativity through a few rapid right-brain workout exercises. For example, the book includes a series of questions that you should answer as fast as possible. These include naming as many dog breeds as you can think of, then writing down every word you can think of beginning with the letter "Y" in three minutes. One part of the workout involves creativity rather than memory: Draw six squares with six circles above each square, then use each pair of shapes to create a new drawing.
Neurobic Exercises
You can stimulate your right and left brain using "Neurobics" -- a system designed to open up new pathways in the brain by changing behavior. For example, breaking daily routines helps keep your brain fresh, according to Resources for Science Learning at the Franklin Institute. Try simple changes like cleaning your teeth with your other hand, getting dressed in the dark or going to work via a different route. The Franklin Institute also recommends combining two sensory experiences at a time, such as smelling perfume while listening to music.
Listen to Mozart
If you want a temporary boost to your creativity via an easy right-brain workout, try putting on some Mozart. According to Eric H. Chudler, Ph.D., at the Washington University Faculty of Music, the brain responds to the "Mozart Effect"; listening to classical music for a period of 10 minutes appears to increase your creative abilities. However, the effect only lasts around 15 minutes. The music appears to stimulate the right brain, in particular. In an experiment at the University of California at Irvine in 1993, students who listened to Mozart for 10 minutes performed better in spatial reasoning tests than students who either listened to a relaxation tape or were exposed to silence.
Group Workout
Creativity and right-brain thinking suits a group workout session, according to Brian Clegg and Paul Birch in "Crash Course in Creativity." The authors also exercises that involve spatial thinking to work the right brain. For example, the "Magic Tunnel" requires two teams of a few people each and a sheet of paper for each team. The people in both teams must figure out how to physically walk through a hole in the paper. The paper must completely surround the hole with no breaks. This tests each team's communication and spatial problem solving. The solution is to fold the paper in half and tear four rips on one side and three on the other to create a large circle of paper.
References
- The Franklin Institute: Mental Exercise for a Better Brain
- Eric H. Chudler, Ph.D. Washington University: Music and Memory and Intelligence
- "Crash Course in Creativity"; Brian Clegg and Paul Birch; 2002
- "Brain Workout: Easy Ways to Power Up Your Memory, Sensory Perception, and Intelligence"; Arthur Winter and Ruth Winter; 2003
