How Creativity Helps Your Brain During the Pandemic

A feel-good portion of your brain wants attention. Especially during this pandemic. Creativity is one way to feed this part of the brain, but most of us turn to other activities. The nine-month stress we have endured has exhausted us, causing us to choose pastimes that might not be good for our waistlines, our prolonged mental health, or our wallets.

This past week, I read two different sources that talked about the importance of brain health. When something repeatedly comes to my attention, I tend to stop and take notice. The first was the article, Your Brain on Cortisol: Why Overstressed Gray Matter is Leading Us Astray in Lockdown, written for NBC News. Elaina Patton detailed the choices people make because of this feel-good center in the brain.

I was not surprised to read how flour and yeast flew off the shelves at the beginning of the pandemic as people started #stressbaking, a hashtag with currently over 49,000 posts on Instagram. (Our house was part of the craze.) While many released their inner Julia Child, others did more than add a bit of cooking wine to their poultry. In October, online alcohol sales were up 26.9% compared to the same period in 2019.

Cyber Monday resulted in the biggest online sales in U.S. history, with over 10.7 billion dollars in purchases. (12 million dollars a minute for you math whizzes.) With children facing more time at-home, many parents wanted to make up for it with more presents under the Christmas tree.

Patton discovered that gifts for others were not the only items purchased during the holidays. Items for self-care rose significantly as well. In 2014 the self-care industry was valued at around 10 billion dollars. In 2020, the value has increased to $450 billion. I don’t have a calculator handy at the moment (or my grandson’s mathematical brain), but I know that indicates mind-bending growth.

So, what has that to do with our brains?

Our brains seek to be rewarded, especially in periods of prolonged stress.

When we participate in pleasure-resulting activities, the reward center in our brain releases dopamine, a neurotransmitter that acts as a chemical messenger. Not only can dopamine be released during the activity itself, but the anticipation of the pleasure derived from that activity can also cause its release. Whether your activity is baking or online shopping during the long hours of quarantine, or filling the time with video games or scrolling on social media, just thinking about the activity can positively effect your mental health.  

The science is much more complicated, but basically, dopamine puts you in a good mood.

For example, a “go-to” comfort food for me is homemade bread. A crusty loaf of herb bread. A cinnamon-filled sticky bun. Fresh-from-the-oven biscuits. Just the smell in the kitchen releases dopamine in my brain. The dopamine increases as I slather a warm bread chunk with melted butter and take a big bite, reinforcing my craving and guaranteeing I will try it again in the future.

We like to be rewarded and our brains reinforce that behavior.

So, what does that have to do with creativity?

Being artistic also increases our brain health. Taking time to learn something creative and challenging releases dopamine in our brains, as well. Simply stated, stirring up curiosity and wonder has the same benefit and reward as eating a freshly baked slice of bread. At least to our brains.

In the book The Laws Guide to Nature Drawing and Journaling, John Muir Laws writes, “Curious investigation stimulates the reward center in your brain. It triggers the release of dopamine and activates the hippocampus, a brain region involved in forming new memories.” Laws encourages readers to learn to ask good investigative questions in the pursuit of developing curiosity and wonder.

A few questions I asked this past week:

Does a bell-shaped flower aid pollinators? When was the last time Jupiter and Saturn were as close as they were on Dec 21? How could I draw a picture of wisdom shouting in the streets from Proverbs 1? (see pic below).

Pursuing a creative activity like photography, drawing or writing can have a positive influence on our brains without having a negative effect on our bank balance. I am also captivated by Laws’ thought that curious investigation helps with the forming of new memories, something beneficial for us all.

Whether recovering from the effects of trauma or the toll of countless weeks of a pandemic, I find it fascinating that God has created us in such a way that pursuing wonder and curiosity releases dopamine in our brains, improving our mental health.

Best of all, we can enjoy the benefits without filling an online shopping cart.

What creative activities have you found beneficial during this pandemic? I'd love to hear about it!

*****

Beginning January 4, the group I lead at Bible Journaling Connection will be starting a new section of scripture, as we connect with God, our faith, and with others as we respond creatively to God's Word. Join us on Facebook and Instagram. Find out more here, including info on a free, 5-part video series. Later in the month, we will also be participating in our first Encourage Someone with Scripture Day. Join the group to find out more.

Super excited to have four photos chosen for a spread on Arizona in the January issue of Chandler Lifestyles magazine. Check it out on page 34.