Anyone who thinks they have the next best invention since sliced bread, but who isn’t yet sure what it is, can take some tips from science to get the creative juices flowing. There is apparently a better time of day to think about innovating and a better way to make it happen. All would-be innovators and entrepreneurs need to take a hike – literally. 

Everyone knows that the after-lunch nap is common. We come back from a meal, ready to tackle the afternoon’s tasks, only to find that are eyelids want to tackle the darkness. However, after lunch is actually the best time to be creative, according to Shane O’Mara. O’Mara is a neuroscientist and a professor at Trinity College Dublin in Ireland. He’s also the author of In Praise of Walking: A New Scientific Exploration, which dives into the brain and when it can be more creative. 

O’Mara, who is also a Wellcome Trust Senior Investigator, explains that there are two forms of thinking, referred to as default and active modes. Active mode allows the brain to accomplish task-oriented jobs, such as creating a schedule or washing the car. Default mode is where the real, life-altering ideas are born, and this mode is activated more when people go out for a walk. 

He explains, “It’s the idea that the core online function of the brain has these two flickering modes, one where we pay close attention to the task, sometimes called the dorsal attentional network, and it turns off the big picture network. When you focus on the detail it is very hard to focus on the big picture. Our waking life is predominated by flickering between these states.”