Science Explains Why Our Best Ideas Come in the Shower

Leo Widrich explains the science of creativity on the Buffer blog. Essentially, our brains give us our best ideas when:

• A lot of dopamine is released in our brains. Triggers like exercising, listening to music, and, yes, taking a warm shower, contribute to increased dopamine flow.
• We're relaxed. When we have a relaxed state of mind, we're more likely to turn attention inwards, able to make insightful connections. We've seen before how being drunk and sleepy are great for creativity.
• We're distracted. Distraction gives our brains a break so our subconscious can work on a problem more creatively. (This is similar to John Cleese's advice to let your ideas bake.)

A dopamine high, relaxed state, and distracted mind: No wonder great ideas happen in the shower.

The most important lesson from this is to make sure you have a way to capture your ideas whenever and wherever they happen.