DAY 167
What do you do when you're feeling blue? I usually try to get out of my misery by putting uplifting music or by trying to have positive thoughts. It works but here is another solution: Think fast!!!!
Researchers at Princeton and Harvard Universities discovered that thinking rapidly could actually boost your mood. For the research, participants were asked to generate as many problem-solving ideas as possible in 10 minutes, quickly read a series of ideas on a computer and watch a T.V. show clip on fast-forward. Other participants performed similar tasks at a normal speed.
Results suggested that thinking fast made participants feel more elated, creative and even powerful. Psychologist Emily Pronin, who led the study, concludes that activities that promote fast thinking, such as whipping through an easy crossword puzzle or brain-storming quickly about an idea, can actually boost energy and mood, except of course if you suffer from a bipolar disorder, then it could have the opposite effect.
It made me think of all the times I've played Scattegories, that game that involves you naming objects within a set of categories, given an initial letter, within a limited amount of time or even the card game of Speed where you have to place cards and think rapidly. I love playing both those games and I really feel reenergized after I do, although I often feel a little stressed while I'm doing it.
I have also experienced that feeling in brainstorming contexts. Whether alone or with other people, when my brain enters a spiral of ideas, I feel enthralled.
Now, the scientific world has studied the phenomenon and discovered that rapid thinking really acts as a mood booster. Researchers believe that the boost in the mood might partly be due to an increase in the neurotransmitter dopamine, which in consequence increases feelings of pleasure, but also to the fact that by thinking fast people actually EXPECT to feel good.
I've always been a very slow thinker and admired people who think fast. Are those people naturally happier? I wonder? Think of some comedians, Robin Williams for instance, who can process information at such great speed.
Finding activities that require fast thinking will provide added moments of exhilaration, with all the mental and physical benefits associated to that feeling... And isn't happiness about accumulating as many as these moments as possible?
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