20 minutes of improvisation can improve our mental health

More and more often you can see posts, posts or articles about mental health - including in the context of our work. It is very good that we are starting to pay attention to this! In this context, the most common topics are meditation, yoga or active recreation. On the other hand, it turns out that an equally good method of taking care of ourselves can be... improvisation training .

In this text you will learn:

1. How the brain learns new ways of doing things
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2. Why improvisation exercises can positively affect our well-being
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3. to what extent you can take care of your mental health with improvisation techniques
   

Daily improvisation training positively affects mental health

A 2020 study published in the journal Thinking Skills and Creativity shows that practicing improvisation for at least 20 minutes a day can significantly improve our mood and increase our tolerance for uncertainty. These elements help us better withstand daily stressful situations, building our mental resilience.

How we learn new things and create new responses to new situations is, despite appearances, not that complicated. According to Mary Slaughter and David Rock of the NeuroLeadership Institute, the brain forms stronger neural connections when the learning process requires our active involvement and attentiveness. This active effort makes it easier for us to use the skills we've learned and to better store the information in our memory. This is related to learning by experiencing, actively experiencing a situation and learning from it.

The process of change is made easier by using the tools of improvisation

Let's take an even closer look at this process. If we are in a situation that knocks us out of autopilot and thus requires us to be engaged and attentive, a number of processes in our brain come into play. It turns on our natural ability to look for opportunities and solve problems. The release of dopamine, which is associated with reward and linked to motivation and learning new things, increases.

During workshops on applied improvisation, participants take part in a number of exercises that require just that - commitment and attentiveness - switching from autopilot mode to manual control - consciously choosing one's reaction rather than responding automatically, schematically. In English, this element is brilliantly distinguished by 2 verbs - "respond" (consciously choosing to respond) and "react" (responding automatically, schematically).

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In addition, during improvisation workshops there are two important elements that support our process of building new ways of doing things. The first is laughter, which is, in a way, a side effect of the impro exercises carried out. Humor and playfulness are tools that are great for relieving tension, eliminating stress and supporting the testing of new ways of acting.

The second important element is the active support of the group. Each class participant takes part in the exercises and thus experiments with their habits. This is supported by the exercises themselves, the vast majority of which are geared toward group action and active cooperation between participants.

Environment influences assimilation of changes

This triangle - (active engagement + laughter + supportive group) is the ideal environment for a healthy process of promoting change, changing one's habits of thinking and acting, and building good, positive behavior and in a variety of stressful situations

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Thanks to this model, we can acquire many new skills and encode positive changes in our brain. We use them precisely during improvisation workshops to learn, among other things, how to find ourselves more easily in the unknown, or how to accept changes or unforeseen situations.
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Not only does intensified thinking occur during improvisation training, but we are also accompanied by positive social and emotional interactions. This makes it easier for our neurons to "store" new behavior patterns, and we learn to deal with situations in a different, often better for our mental health, way.

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Another point is that improvisation places great emphasis on understanding and accepting the ideas and reactions of others. This nullifies conservativeness, reduces the fear of being judged or the fear of making a mistake. Practicing improvisation also promotes openness, because we learn to accept different scenarios in new situations. It also expands the ability to combine different thoughts and ideas. As a result, we gain better adaptation, resistance to stress and openness to new possibilities, ideas and concepts.

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Thanks to improvisation exercises, significant improvements in symptoms of anxiety, depression and a reduction in perfectionism were noted among the subjects. And as is well known, the pursuit of perfection generates a tremendous amount of stress, not to mention blocking our abilities. This thesis was supported by yet another study (2017 study published in the Journal of Mental Health), which took a closer look at improvisation exercises in the context of therapeutic intervention.

Use improvisation tools to improve well-being

In summary, regular improvisation training, allows us to encode new behavioral pathways in our brain, switching us from autopilot mode to manual control. This makesus less stressed, easier to embrace change and more committed to new opportunities.

Not sure how to get down to improving your mental health using improvisation? A good method is to start with a course, learn the exercises in practice, and then apply them to upcoming life and work situations.

Sources:

https://judetrederwolff.medium.com/the-mental-health-benefits-of-improv-how-making-things-up-together-helps-us-deal-with-reality-99f13854db46

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09638237.2017.1340629?journalCode=ijmh20

https://www.fastcompany.com/40560075/no-pain-no-brain-gain-why-learning-demands-a-little-discomfort

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1871187119302470?via%3Dihub