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Comment by paperwasp42 | Hacker News Reader

Interesting to see this confirmed by a study. As a writer, I've always found walks to be immensely helpful when plotting. A brisk 30-min walk is usually enough to solve any tricky plot-holes I run into.

Running has a similar, but immensely stronger, effect. Generally, I have near constant dialogue between my characters going on in the back of my head. When I run, it simply engulfs my mind, making it hard to concentrate on anything else. I cannot have "jogging buddies" for this reason. It's simply too difficult to listen/react to them when I have an overwhelming stream of imaginary conversation filling my skull.

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>Running has a similar, but immensely stronger, effect. Generally, I have near constant dialogue between my characters going on in the back of my head. When I run, it simply engulfs my mind, making it hard to concentrate on anything else. I cannot have "jogging buddies" for this reason. It's simply too difficult to listen/react to them when I have an overwhelming stream of imaginary conversation filling my skull.

I found the opposite effect for myself. While walking and basic physical exercise tends to improve my ability to tackle problems more creatively, running or high intensity exercise gets me in a survival mode where I can't think about complex and abstract problems deeply. Was a downside because I always wished I could multitask on 40-60 minute runs, killing two birds with one stone. Instead I can't get anything done but an intense cardio exercise.

you're multitasking on the runs - one of the tasks is giving the critical reasoning part of the brain a break!

Very interesting. Cortisol is a creativity killer for most people, so I guess it makes sense that cardio reduces your creativity.

I'm extremely curious why cardio can trigger such vastly different brain responses. My guess is that it has something to do with different hormone responses in different people, but I'll be following the science eagerly on this one.

Try to lower the intensity and run slower. I can pump out 7:30 min/miles when in "go" mode. Thinking mode is 9 min/miles.

I've solved plenty of nagging problems e.g., what missing from this code?) 20 to 30 mins into a 60 min run. The rhythm and the disconnect gives my mind just enough space to step back, rethink, and then solve.

Btw, the book "Your Brain at Work" by David Rock is worth a read if reading is your thing.

https://davidrock.net/books/

That looks like an interesting read for sure! Thanks for the link.

I have jogging buddies sometimes but we don't talk when we are running, so that could be an option?

If you can think about work while running, you're jogging at best. Every plateau I hit with my running is the result of distraction and is broken through by being present, focusing on form and deliberately running. I've gained weight and haven't realized the full benefits of exercise because I've thought about work. It's at odds with achieving healthful living..

For me, those sorts of intense bursts of creativity aren't "thinking about work." It's an unconscious rush of thought that I couldn't hold back if I tried. It's basically a natural high, and I find it extremely refreshing and mentally healthy.

My experience agrees with your first statement, but more in the sense that really good thinking was possible when I was at a pace I felt confident I could maintain for an hour or two without being overly tired afterwards. Of course that pace increased over time and eventually my 'jog' pace was faster than my starting 'run' pace.

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