Walking has inspired all sorts of creativity, "The moment

my legs begin to move, my thoughts begin to flow,"

said Henry David Thoreau. William Wordsworth's

poem "Tintern Abbey" was written during a long

walk, as well. "Only thoughts reached by walking

have value," was how Friedrich Nietzsche put it.

But why does walking have this effect? The answer,

as you might have guessed, lies in your brain.

Your brain has two modes: an active mode and a de-

fault mode. When your brain is in active mode, it's

vital for keeping your brain in order and your

thinking sharp.

Evidence suggests that creativity occurs when

these two modes of thinking occur

simultaneously. And walking is a great way to encourage the brain to do exactly that. Walking - or

more specifically, spatial navigation - stimulates

the part of the brain around the hippocampus,

which is also the part of the brain that's active in

memory.

Walking might not help with uncreative problems

like mathematical calculations. But for creative

problem-solving, like coming up with a novel

mathematical formula, walking can help greatly.

The author calls it active idleness - letting your mind

wander freely, yet still retaining a sense

focus. You've probably heard people say you should "sleep

on" a difficult question - but why not also try

"walking on" it? Next time you have a challenging

problem to solve at work, give it a go.