Why Busy Coffee Shops Fuel Your Creativity
What do you do when your mind has gone blank to new ideas and you are becoming frustrated?
One option is too simply take a break; this can really help.
Studies show that when you take a break from a specific problem and move onto something else unrelated the mind continues to work on the problem in the unconscious and can often come up with a creative solution.
But, what if this doesn’t work.
Well, according to one study another effective way to break a creative block is to go and
visit a coffee shop – with your bosses approval of course.
In the study by Ravi Mehta titled, “Is Noise Always Bad? Exploring the Effects of Ambient Noise on Creative Cognition, they found that modest ambient noise of around 70 decibels in volume (typical of what you might find in busy coffee shop) helps to stimulate the parts of our brains responsible for abstract and creative thinking.
In their studies they found that at this 70 Decibel ambient noise range enhanced performance in tasks requiring creativity when compared to performing these tasks in a 50 Decibel relatively quiet environment.
But a higher noise level of 85 Decibels actually reduced performance in creative task compared to those performing tasks in the quieter 50 Decibel setting.
So, if you are struggling for creativity, then why not take yourself into the 70 Decibel, optimal creative thinking setting of a coffee shop?
If you can’t make it to a coffee shop, try this web service from coffitivity which streams the ambient background noise of a coffee shop straight on to your desk top. I urge you to try it.
