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LONDON — A person's bed is a sacred place. It's where we start each day, and where we recharge each night. Perhaps, then, it's no surprise that a new survey reveals that inspiration strikes most often in the bedroom.
According to a survey of 2,000 British residents commissioned by Microsoft Surface, many of our best ideas are most likely to occur as we are dozing off, when we first wake up in the morning, and even in the middle of the night.
In all, just over 40% of survey participants said they believe their bed is a conducive environment for creativity.
Besides enjoying some time in bed, going for a walk was listed as the second most creativity-inducing activity, and listening to music came in third. Taking a shower and going for a drive were also listed as great ways to spark some creativity.
Judging from the survey, the majority of Brits at least believe they are creative thinkers (53%), but most say they just don't have the time to come up with new ideas (42%).
It's worth noting that 57% of surveyed women said they consider themselves creative, while only 48% of surveyed men reported the same notion. Across both genders, 41% of respondents said they wish they had more time to focus on that creativity.
Interestingly, the survey also showed that self-doubt leads to many new ideas never seeing the light of day. A whooping 65% of respondents said they don't share new ideas with anyone due to fear of other people's opinions and failure.
In terms of what it takes to be creative, 31% said that confidence is key to succeeding as an inventor and truly be creative.
“Some people get their thrills from bungee jumping or scoring a winning goal at Wembley, but I get mine from coming up with creative ideas,” says inventor Dominic Wilcox in a statement. ”Creativity is important because the world has many problems and challenges, and we need a lot more people with creative solutions to solve them. I think that everyone can become more creative and increase their ability to think up new ideas. Creativity is just a particular way of thinking that can be learned and practiced like any other skill.”
