Shower Ideas and Creativity: What the Research Shows

Level: B2

Printable: Student handout (PDF) | Teacher’s key (PDF)

Reading

Many people say their best ideas arrive in the shower, not at a desk. The French mathematician Henri Poincaré described a solution arriving just as he stepped onto a bus, and similar anecdotes are easy to find. In 2014, a survey of 4,000 adults in eight countries, including Brazil, China, Germany, and South Africa, reported that 72 percent had experienced new ideas in the shower and 14 percent sometimes showered to think. It was commissioned by Hansgrohe, a German company that makes showers, with input from the psychologist Scott Barry Kaufman. A sponsor with a product to sell is not a neutral source, and the answers were self-reports. The survey shows what people believe happens, not why it happens.

One popular explanation involves the brain’s default mode network, a set of connected regions that becomes more active when people let their minds wander or do passive tasks. Roger Beaty, a cognitive neuroscientist at Penn State University, describes it as the state the brain returns to when it is not actively engaged. Kalina Christoff, a neuroscientist in Canada, has said that getting ideas at unexpected moments is a very common human experience. Beaty adds a warning: the default mode network is not the only network that matters, because other networks are needed to change, reject, or put ideas into practice.

Experiments have tested whether a break helps. In a 2012 study, Benjamin Baird and his colleagues asked people to list unusual uses for everyday objects, gave them a break, and then repeated the same problems. Those who spent the break on an undemanding task improved more than those who did a demanding task, rested, or had no break. The authors called the break an incubation period, a time when a problem is set aside but may still develop in the background. They linked the improvement to mind wandering. Later teams, however, could not replicate the result. In 2021, Lena Steindorf and colleagues at Heidelberg University in Germany used a similar undemanding task and found no advantage over simply working on the problems again.

Zachary Irving at the University of Virginia offers one explanation for this. He has argued that the earlier studies measured how distracted people were, not how much their minds wandered freely. In a 2022 study with Caitlin Mills and others, participants listed ideas before and after a short video. Mind wandering helped them generate more creative ideas, but only during a moderately engaging clip from a romantic comedy, not during a dull video about laundry. The authors argue that creative thinking needs a balance: purely focused thinking limits originality, while completely free thinking produces associations that are rarely useful. A moderately engaging task places light constraints on thought. A shower may work in a similar way, since it can occupy the body and part of the attention while leaving the mind free.

A 2019 study by Shelly Gable and colleagues looked at real working life. Physicists and professional writers reported their most important idea each evening and what they had been doing at the time. About 20 percent of these ideas came while people were thinking about something else, and people rated them as just as creative and important as ideas from focused work. Participants were also more likely to describe these ideas as sudden moments of insight. The ratings, however, were self-reports.

The effect is not limited to showers. In four experiments with 176 people, Marily Oppezzo and Daniel Schwartz at Stanford University found that walking increased creative output. In the first experiment, 81 percent of participants scored higher on the unusual-uses test while walking on a treadmill, but only 23 percent improved on a test that needed one correct answer. In another experiment, a smaller boost remained after people sat down again. Walking seems to help most when people are producing options, not when they need one solution.

Popular articles add other explanations, such as the chemical dopamine, alpha brain waves, relaxation, and the privacy and routine of the shower. These may play a part, but the articles do not cite measurements taken during showers, so the explanations remain hypotheses. It is also unclear whether the water itself matters, since none of the studies described here tested showers directly. An idea that feels brilliant in the shower still has to be evaluated with focused thinking. An obvious next test would compare people in a real shower with people washing dishes.

Vocabulary

Each word has a frequency score, a rank, and a tag. The score shows how common the word is in modern English: higher means more common, and each full point means roughly ten times more common. The rank is the word’s position on a list of about 321,000 English word forms, from most to least common. The tag shows where you are most likely to meet the word: Current, Formal, Literary, or Dated. The paragraph number shows where the word first appears in the reading. The labels are information, not instructions. Deciding which words are worth your time is up to you. How to read the scores, ranks, and tags.

Similar anecdotes are easy to find.
He told several anecdotes about his years abroad.

A sponsor with a product to sell is not a neutral source.
The company is the main sponsor of the festival.

The network becomes more active when people let their minds wander.
We wandered through the old town for hours.

Those who spent the break on an undemanding task improved more.
The break was spent on an undemanding task.

The authors called the break an incubation period.
The egg needs three weeks of incubation.

Later teams, however, could not replicate the result.
Other labs tried to replicate the test with new volunteers.

Mind wandering helped them generate more creative ideas.
The wind farm can generate enough power for a town.

The clip from a romantic comedy was moderately engaging.
She is an engaging speaker.

Purely focused thinking limits originality.
The judges praised the originality of her design.

A moderately engaging task places light constraints on thought.
The project faced budget constraints.

A shower can occupy the body and part of the attention.
Games occupied the children for hours.

They described these ideas as sudden moments of insight.
The report gives an insight into how teenagers use phones.

Articles mention the privacy and routine of the shower.
My morning routine takes an hour.

The explanations remain hypotheses.
The scientist tested three hypotheses.

An idea from the shower still has to be evaluated.
The teachers evaluated each project carefully.

Activity Page

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Speed Challenge

Answer 12 questions against the clock. Every wrong answer adds 5 seconds, and the lowest score wins. Open the speed challenge in a new tab.

Shadow Reading and Typing: The Notebook by the Door

This short text uses many of the words from this lesson. Use it for shadow reading (reading aloud along with a model) and for typing practice.

I am a university student, and like many people, I often get my best ideas in the shower. My friends have similar anecdotes. One of them solved a coding problem while washing his hair. For a long time, I thought there must be something special about the water.

Then I read about the research, and it was less clear than I expected. A famous survey about shower ideas was paid for by a sponsor that sells showers, so it was not neutral. Some experiments suggested that an undemanding task during a break, an incubation period, helps people generate new ideas. However, other teams could not replicate that result.

One idea made sense to me. Creative thinking may need gentle constraints. A moderately engaging activity can occupy part of your attention while letting your mind wander. Perhaps a shower does this, and so might walking, which one study linked to more creative output. In another study, ideas that came while people were thinking about something else often felt like sudden moments of insight.

Popular explanations about brain chemicals are still hypotheses, since nobody has measured people in real showers. So I changed my routine. I still think in the shower, but I keep a notebook by the door. Later, at my desk, each idea is evaluated carefully, and many do not survive. Originality matters, but so does checking.

How to practice

Read the text silently once and check any words you are unsure of.
Read it aloud slowly, one sentence at a time. On the typing page, the Listen button reads each line with your device’s voice, so you can listen first and then repeat.
Shadow: read aloud again at a natural speed, trying to keep a steady rhythm without stopping.
Record yourself, listen back, and note one sentence to practice again.
Type it on the typing page below and check your speed and accuracy.

Open the typing practice in a new tab

Comprehension Questions

What did the 2014 survey report, and why is it weak evidence about causes?
What is the default mode network, and what warning does Roger Beaty give about it?
Describe the design and main result of Baird’s 2012 study. What is an incubation period?
What happened when other researchers, such as Steindorf’s team, tried to repeat Baird’s study?
How does Irving explain the mixed results, and what did his 2022 study find?
Why might a moderately engaging task work better than a boring one, according to the reading?
What did the study of physicists and writers find, and what is its main limit?
How do the walking experiments suggest that light activity helps some kinds of thinking more than others?
Why does the reading say an idea from the shower still needs to be evaluated, and what test does it suggest next?

IELTS-Style Questions

True, False, or Not Given: “Most participants in the walking experiments were professional athletes.” Explain your answer using evidence from the reading.
Yes, No, or Not Given: “The writer believes that the shower is the only place where mind wandering helps creativity.” Explain your answer.
Author’s purpose: Why does the writer describe studies that could not replicate Baird’s result?

AI Discussion Prompt

I just read a B2 English lesson called Why Our Best Ideas Come in the Shower. It covered a 2014 survey commissioned by a shower company, the brain’s default mode network, Baird’s 2012 incubation study and later studies that could not replicate it, Irving’s 2022 study on moderately engaging activities, a diary study of physicists and writers, the Stanford walking experiments, and popular explanations such as dopamine that remain hypotheses. I am an English learner at about B2 level. Please have a friendly conversation with me about creativity and where I get my best ideas, presenting more than one perspective and asking one question at a time. Encourage me to use words like wander, undemanding, replicate, generate, and constraints. Respond to my ideas first, then briefly point out one or two language errors.

AI Vocabulary Prompt

I want to practice vocabulary from a lesson about having ideas in the shower. Please quiz me on the following words one at a time, using a mix of question types: multiple choice, true/false, and sentence completion. Give me feedback after each answer before moving on, and bring back the words I miss later. Here are the words: anecdotes, sponsor, wander, undemanding, incubation, replicate, generate, engaging, originality, constraints, occupy, insight, routine, hypotheses, evaluated.

Discussion Questions

Where or when do you usually have your best ideas? Does the reading match your experience?
The survey was commissioned by a shower company. How much should the source of a survey affect how much we trust it?
Why do you think stories about ideas in the shower are so popular, even without strong scientific proof?
The reading says the default mode network is not the only network that matters. Why is it risky to explain complex thinking with one brain area?
Baird’s participants improved after an undemanding task. What undemanding tasks could you use as a break when you are stuck?
Irving’s study found that a boring video did not help, but a moderately engaging one did. Why might a task that is too boring or too interesting be less useful?
Popular articles mention dopamine and alpha waves, but the reading calls them hypotheses. How can readers tell a tested explanation from a hypothesis?
Walking helped with producing options but less with finding one correct answer. What kinds of problems in your work or study need each kind of thinking?
Do you think a shower is better than walking for creative thinking? What evidence would change your mind?
Ideas that feel brilliant in the shower still have to be evaluated. How do you check your own ideas after a moment of inspiration?
Many people write down ideas soon after having them. Is this a habit you have, and how could you improve it?
Some people fill every quiet moment with phones and music. How might this affect creative thinking?
Baird’s well-known result was not replicated by later teams. Should the media report a single study before other scientists have repeated it?
The reading suggests comparing people in a shower with people washing dishes. What practical and ethical problems might researchers face in such an experiment?

Language Focus: Noun Clauses and Embedded Questions

What it is: A noun clause works as a noun inside a longer sentence. It can begin with that, whether, or a question word such as what, why, and how. In an embedded question, the word order is like a statement (why it happens), not like a direct question (why does it happen?).

Why writers use it: Reports on research constantly discuss what is known, what is unclear, and why. Noun clauses let you state these points in one sentence without changing the writer’s voice.

Examples from the reading:

“The survey shows what people believe happens, not why it happens.”
“Experiments have tested whether a break helps.”
“He has argued that the earlier studies measured how distracted people were, not how much their minds wandered freely.”
“It is also unclear whether the water itself matters…”

Practice task: Turn the direct question into an embedded question: “Why do ideas come in the shower?” Begin with Researchers are still asking…

(Example answer: “Researchers are still asking why ideas come in the shower.”)

Recommended Resources

The Science of Why You Have Great Ideas in the Shower (National Geographic). A magazine article on the default mode network, with comments from Roger Beaty and Kalina Christoff.
Finally, the Real Answer Why Your Best Ideas Come While Showering (UVA Today). Zachary Irving explains the 2022 video study and why he thinks earlier studies measured distraction.
Why Do We Get Our Best Ideas in the Shower? (Discover). A short article on the balance between focused thinking and free thinking in mildly engaging tasks.
The Meandering Path to That ‘Aha!’ Moment (Association for Psychological Science). A summary of the diary study in which physicists and writers recorded when their ideas came.
Taking a Walk May Lead to More Creativity Than Sitting, Study Finds (PsyPost). A news report on the four Stanford walking experiments and the boost that remained after sitting down.