The science behind Street Wisdom
We’ve been running Street Wisdom Walkshops for over 10 years, sharing this wanderful practice with over 20,000 people in over 90 countries. But does it have any science behind it?
It absolutely does.
First things first, the thinking behind Street Wisdom is beautifully recounted in founder David Pearl’s book, Wanderful, and so we recommend grabbing a copy and enjoying all the ins and outs and twists and turns of how David refined and fine-tuned the Street Wisdom practice in your own time.
That said, we love sharing the science behind Street Wisdom, because walking is proven to have some amazing effects:
Improved focus: Walking can help you perform better on tests of attention and memory.
New brain connections: Walking can help build new connections in your brain cells, which can help prevent brain tissue from withering with age.
Changing thought pace: You can change the pace of your thoughts by walking more quickly or slowly.
Free flow of ideas: Walking can open up the flow of ideas and help you generate new ones.
Here are some tips for maximising your walking for creativity during the day:
Duration
Aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity walking per day.
Frequency
Aim to walk at least five days a week, but even three to four days a week can provide benefits. We can help you build a long-term Street Wisdom practice - simply join one of our Walkshops.
Intensity
Walk at a pace where you can still hold a conversation but feel slightly breathless.
Incorporate movement throughout the day
Take short breaks to stretch your legs, walk around the office, or go for a quick stroll during lunch breaks.
Take part in a Street Wisdom Walkshop
We have Walkshops online and in-person every month, they’re free to join! Find out more
If you fancy it, we always point interested folk to this amazing peer-reviewed article:
Give Your Ideas Some Legs: The Positive Effect of Walking on Creative Thinking by Marily Oppezzo and Daniel L Schwartz, Stanford University, 2014
This is the paper that said that going for a walk can increase your creativity by 60%. While simply walking itself boosts creative thinking, walking outdoors was found to boost novel thinking. Novel thinking can refer to all kinds of problem-solving - a tricky work situation, a personal relationship issue. The study found that the benefits last a while after the walk too, which is amazing news! So walking to work, for example, would mean you’re more likely to benefit from novel thinking at work for a few hours after your walk.
The authors say, ”Walking is an easy-to-implement strategy to increase appropriate novel idea generation. When there is a premium on generating new ideas in the workday, it should be beneficial to incorporate walks.” They offer potential reasons as to why walking is so good for creative/divergent thinking (as opposed to convergent thinking). One thought they think is worth exploring is that physical exercised leads to mood enhancement, and mood enhancement might in turn improve divergent thinking. This correlates to our experience; people often report ‘feeling good’ after a Street Wisdom Walkshop.
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