The shower thoughts we experience aren’t just a tendency people started noticing. It’s a real phenomenon backed up by science called the shower effect. Zachary Irving, an assistant professor at the University of Virginia, together with his team, has noticed that people seem to generate their best creative ideas while doing activities like showering or walking.
His research in 2022 led to another observation: "Mind wandering leads to more creative ideas, but only during moderately engaging activities."
To learn more about why creativity seems to flow best in the shower and how we can extend this effect outside of it, Bored Panda reached out to Elana McKernan, master certified life and creativity coach for perfectionists, and Cindy Cisneros, LCPC-S, certified creativity coach and creativity expert.
"This phenomenon relates to the brain’s default mode network (DMN), which activates when we engage in routine or “autopilot” tasks. The DMN is associated with mind-wandering, insight, and creative problem-solving. Activities like showering, walking, driving, or folding laundry allow the brain to make novel connections by reducing external distractions and engaging subconscious thought processes," explains Cisneros.
"A 2019 study published in Scientific Reports found that people were more likely to experience spontaneous creative insights during mindless tasks than when focusing intensely on a problem (Baird et al., 2019)," she further says. "The shower, in particular, adds additional benefits, such as relaxation and increased dopamine levels, which can further enhance creativity (Dietrich, 2004)."
McKernan believes that the shower is such a great place for creative thinking because we feel safe and comfortable in it and there's no pressure to be productive.
"We create the most when our minds are free to wander and we can play around with ideas and possibilities without being constrained by a sense of obligation or duty.Showering provides the perfect amount of distraction for a creative brain. We are distracted just enough by going through the motions of showering for our minds to wander in new and interesting ways, but not so much that we are fully engaged or distracted," she explains.
"This leaves our minds free to wander, to imagine, and to dream. And because we usually don't climb into a shower with expectations that we create a masterpiece, it is a space that is usually comfortable and free of judgment."
It would be highly inconvenient if we only came up with good ideas in the shower, so we asked the experts for some tips on how to keep the creativity flowing in our day-to-day.
"To harness this effect in other settings, engage in repetitive or low-stakes activities that allow your brain to shift into a relaxed, free-flowing state. One effective technique is “cross-modality” creativity, where individuals explore creative outlets outside their primary medium," suggests Cisneros.
"For example, a musician might try freeform sketching, or a painter might experiment with cooking. This approach fosters a sense of play and reduces pressure, making it easier to enter a “flow” state—a concept described by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (1990). Flow occurs when people are fully immersed in an activity that is both challenging and enjoyable, leading to heightened creativity and problem-solving abilities."
McKernan says that we can channel our creativity anywhere. All we have to do is surround ourselves with a self-supporting environment without judgment.
"If you are someone who usually pressures yourself to create or has high expectations for yourself, try giving yourself explicit permission to only follow what you find interesting. When I sit down to write, I literally tell myself: all I have to do is follow my curiosity, nothing more. This helps me stay engaged with the work, and relieves the pressure to have a certain output."
