Can how you move change how you think?
Scientists have long thought of the brain as a “control center” for the body – a kind of computer that dictates how we move. But what if how we walk and stand and gesture could actually change how we think?
Scientists have long thought of the brain as a “control center” for the body – a kind of computer that dictates how we move through space. But what if how we walk and stand and gesture could actually change how we think? That’s what Sian Beilock asks in her new book, “How the Body Knows Its Mind: The Surprising Power of the Physical Environment to Influence How You Think and Feel.” Beilock is a psychology professor at the University of Chicago. She looked how our physical movement affects our thoughts and emotions in different settings – from school, to work, to human relationships.
Sian Beilock, a professor in the Department of Psychology at The University of Chicago. (Photo: University of Chicago)
We talked to Beilock back in 2011 about math anxiety. She’s the author of “Choke: What the Secrets of the Brain Reveal About Getting It Right When You Have To.”