Last week I introduced you to Creative Health Scientist, Katina Bajaj, and the concept of Creative Health, which is the most overlooked pillar of our wellbeing.
This week I want to share what was possibly my favourite discovery from my research and interview with Katina.
We were talking about the guilt so many women feel around taking time for a hobby and that inner dialogue of “I don't have time for this. I should be doing something useful.”
She completely reframed the conversation.
She told me that when we engage in effortful creative activity, it doesn't just feel good in the moment. It expands our perception of time! So we end up feeling like we have more time in our day.
Here's why.
So much of what we do every day runs on autopilot. The same work tasks. The same scroll. The same mental loops. When our brain is on autopilot, it doesn't bother recording much as it's already seen this before. And when there's nothing new to encode, time compresses. Hours disappear. Weeks blur.
But when you do an activity that requires your brain to actually show up and engage in something new that asks a little from you, it records the whole experience in detail. And that richness is what makes you feel like there's actually more time in your day.
This is backed up by Dr Kelly Lambert, a Professor of Behavioural Neuroscience at the University of Richmond, who I've had the pleasure of corresponding with. Her research discovered that hands-on activities that produce a tangible result — making something and being able to say "I did this" — light up four different parts of the brain at the same time: the parts responsible for pleasure, movement, emotion, and decision-making. It's one of the most complete neurological experiences available to us. And it's sitting there waiting, every time you pick up a project.
Pretty cool, right?!
Tahnée (and Kate)