It could be time to ditch1 the playlist2—experts say listening to musicin the shower is bad for creativity.Research has shown that playing musicto keep your mind busy while showering，taking a walk or travelling to schoolcould affect3 your ability to thinkoutside the box and come up with artistic4 or inventive5 things to do.

By comparison， experts say beingbored is important for creativity and canlead to daydreaming plus the birth ofnew ideas.

Expert Gretchen Rubin said peoplewho always keep their mind busy bylistening to music while doing boringtasks could be affecting the power oftheir imagination. This group includedthose who listened to music or podcastsin the shower， while taking a walk ortravelling to school in the morning.

可能是時候放棄播放列表了———專家表示，淋浴時聽音樂不利于創(chuàng)造力。研究表明，在洗澡、散步或上學(xué)途中播放音樂讓大腦保持忙碌，可能會影響你跳出定式思維并想出有藝術(shù)性或創(chuàng)造性的事情的能力。

相比之下，專家們表示，無聊對創(chuàng)造力很重要，會引領(lǐng)天馬行空的想象和新思路的誕生。

專家格雷琴·魯賓說，那些在做無聊的事情的時候總是通過聽音樂讓大腦保持忙碌的人可能正在影響他們的想象力。這一群體包括那些在淋浴、散步或早上上學(xué)時聽音樂或播客的人。

She said， “I love listening to podcasts，however I would have been thinkingabout whateverthepodcast wasabout.”

While there is nothing wrong withthinking about a podcast or listening tomusic， doing so while taking a shower orgoing for a walk takes away from time thatcould be spent thinking about yourselfand your life—the perfect time to let yourcreative juices flow， Ms Ruben said.

“You need this open-searching timein order for new ideas to bubble up，”she said. “This is why people get ideasin the shower or in the middle of thenight—it’s a downtime6 where then thebrain creates its own fun.”

“It’s when I’m bored that I havebig insights7 because my brain is openand trying to entertain8 itself，” MsRubin added.

A recent study by psychologists9showed the same process at work.

In the research， groups of peoplewere given a dull writing or readingtask. They were then asked to completea creative task. Researchers found theboring writing and reading activities ledto increased creativity—meaning beingbored made the mind entertain itselfwith something creative and fun.

她說：“我很喜歡聽播客，但我會思考播客的內(nèi)容?！?/p>

魯賓女士說，雖然思考播客的內(nèi)容或聽音樂沒有錯，但在洗澡或散步時這樣做會占用本來可以用來思考自己和生活的時間———這是讓你的創(chuàng)造力源源不斷涌現(xiàn)的最佳時機。

“你需要這段開放式探索的時間，這樣新的想法才能涌現(xiàn)出來?！彼f，“這就是為什么人們會在淋浴時或半夜產(chǎn)生創(chuàng)意———這是讓大腦創(chuàng)造自己樂趣的休息時間?！?/p>

魯賓女士補充道：“當(dāng)我感到無聊時，我會有深入的見解，因為我的大腦是開放的，并試圖自娛自樂?！?/p>

心理學(xué)家最近的一項研究顯示了從事某項任務(wù)時的同樣過程。

在這項研究中，一組人被分配了枯燥的寫作或閱讀任務(wù)。然后，他們被要求完成一項創(chuàng)造性的任務(wù)。研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)，無聊的寫作和閱讀活動會提高創(chuàng)造力———這意味著無聊會讓大腦用一些有創(chuàng)意和有趣的東西來娛樂自己。

So， is it best to hang up yourfavourite podcast and ditch the bath-timetunes10？

One said， “Sometimes I need themusic to drown out all the thoughts I don’t（want to） think.”

Another commented11， “Many peoplehave too much going on in their heads.That’s why they listen to music in theshower， so they can actually relax. Whycan’t we just enjoy the things we love？”

But others said they liked havingquiet time while travelling home at theend of the day.

“I’m in autopilot12 and my brain is freefor30minutes，”onepersoncommented.

In any case， keeping a goodbalance13 and listening to musicsometimes but being quiet at other timescould be the best balance for that busymental playlist.

那么，最好是關(guān)掉你最喜歡的播客，放棄洗澡時間的音樂嗎？

其中一人說：“有時候我需要音樂來蓋過所有我不想思考的想法?！?/p>

另一個人評論道：“很多人腦子里想的東西太多了。這就是他們在淋浴時聽音樂的原因，這樣他們才能真正放松。為什么我們不能享受我們喜歡的東西呢？”

但其他人表示，他們喜歡在一天結(jié)束后回家的路上享受安靜的時光。

“我處于機械性地駕駛狀態(tài)，我的大腦可以自由活動30 分鐘?！币粋€人評論道。

無論如何，保持良好的平衡，時而聽音樂，時而安靜下來可能是繁忙的心理播放列表的最佳平衡狀態(tài)。

（英語原文選自：kidsnews.com.au）