Alice Flaherty, one of the most renowned neuroscientists researching creativity has an answer for us when it comes to why you get your best ideas in the shower. An ingredient that's very important for us to be creative is dopamine: The more dopamine that is released, the more creative we are.

人为什么总在洗澡的时候灵感爆发？创造力研究领域最著名的神经科学家之一，爱丽丝·弗拉赫蒂为我们提供了答案。产生创造力的其中一个至关重要的因素是多巴胺。释放的多巴胺越多，我们就越有创造力。

Typical triggers for events, that make us feel great and relaxed and therefore give us an increased dopamine flow are taking a warm shower, exercising, driving home, etc. The chances of having great ideas then are a lot higher.

常见的令人感觉舒适、放松，从而促进多巴胺分泌的活动，包括洗个热水澡，锻炼身体，开车回家等等，在这些时刻，灵感乍现的几率会高很多。

Especially if you have thought long and hard all day about a problem, jumping into the shower can turn into what scientist call the "incubation period" for your ideas. The subconscious mind has been working extremely hard to solve the problems you face and now that you let your mind wander, it can surface and plant those ideas into your conscious mind.

特别是如果你已经为一个问题绞尽脑汁想了一整天，走进淋浴间的瞬间就是科学家所说的进入了想法的“孵化期”。潜意识里你一直在非常努力地解决面临的问题，而你现在洗澡的过程就是放松思维，让灵感浮出水面、进入到你的意识里的过程。

Lastly, after you have received an influx in dopamine, can be easily distracted by an extremely habitual task like showering or cooking, a relaxed state of mind is absolutely important to be creative.

最后，多巴胺水平上升后，你会很容易被习惯性的事件分散注意力，如洗澡或做饭。放松的心态对创意是至关重要的。

Why is a relaxed state of mind so important for creative insights? When our minds are at ease, we're more likely to direct the spotlight of attention inward, toward that stream of remote associations emanating from the right hemisphere. In contrast, when we are diligently focused, our attention tends to be directed outward, toward the details of the problems we're trying to solve. While this pattern of attention is necessary when solving problems analytically, it actually prevents us from detecting the connections that lead to insights. 

为什么放松的精神状态对创造力的产生如此重要？当我们的思想处于轻松状态时，我们更有可能将注意力的焦点转向内部，转向从右脑远程发出的联想流。相比之下，当我们努力想集中注意力时，我们的注意力往往是向外的，转向我们试图解决的问题的细节。虽然这种注意力模式在分析性地解决问题时是必要的，但它实际上阻碍了我们去发现产生灵感的联想。

That’s why so many insights happen during warm showers. For many people, it’s the most relaxing part of the day. It’s not until we’re being massaged by warm water, unable to check our e-mail, that we’re finally able to hear the quiet voices in the backs of our heads telling us about the insight. The answers have been their all along, we just weren’t listening.

这就是为什么灵感乍现常发生在洗澡时。对许多人来说，这是一天中最放松的时刻。直到我们被温暖包围，不再想着查收电子邮件，我们才能够听到我们脑海中安静的声音，向我们诉说灵感。答案一直都在，只是我们没有在听。

1.dopamine n. 多巴胺

2.incubation n. 孵化

3.influx n. (人、资金或事物的)涌入

4.emanate v. 表现；散发

5.hemisphere n. (球体的、地球的、大脑的)半球