Working with Your Hands Does Wonders for Your Brain
Susan Biali Haas, M.D.
Susan Biali Haas, M.D.
Quote:...when we use our hands on a task that doesn’t demand much cognitively, it gives the mind a chance to relax and rest. As a knowledge worker (I’m a doctor, writer, coach, speaker etc.) I’m constantly using my brain. It’s gotten worse with the advent of the smartphone, as I spend so much of my downtime reading interesting articles. I also love reading novels. My brain rarely catches a break.
I get a huge sense of relief and pleasure, from doing something with my hands that doesn’t require me to think much about anything. It’s magnificent.
Second, when my brain is “off-line”, it gives it a chance to work on problems behind the scenes. From a number of essays and article that I read on this topic, it’s not uncommon for people to have breakthrough ideas while mindlessly working on something with their hands.
My favourite Mind-Body Medicine expert, Dr. Herbert Benson, wrote about this phenomenon (and strategy) in his book The Breakout Principle. When we engage in a repetitive task, completely taking our minds off whatever problem or issue we have been struggling with, the solution will often magically appear....
'Historically, we may regard materialism as a system of dogma set up to combat orthodox dogma...Accordingly we find that, as ancient orthodoxies disintegrate, materialism more and more gives way to scepticism.'
- Bertrand Russell
- Bertrand Russell