On “The Breakout Principle”

I’ve read The Breakout Principle by Herbert Benson and William Proctor as part of my exploration of the concept of creative incubation. The subtitle of this book is “How to activate the natural trigger that maximises creativity, athletic performance, productivity and personal well-being”. Notes The main claim is that certain physical activities can interrupt current mental patterns and encourage new insights and greater productivity. We can learn to trigger this state. The authors argue that there’s a specific biological process that encourages the breakout state: our bodies build up stress hormones as we work on challenging problems, and then the breakout state releases nitric oxide to counteract the stress hormones. The calming effect of the nitric oxide may bring about creative insights and other positive effects. The book lists many different types of activities that some people have found effective for triggering the breakout state, including: walking in nature, listening to…