Step back, and your brain will take step forward

According to a team of Dutch scientists, walking backward helps people think more clearly.

The study, published in the journal Psychological Science, tested the ability of 38 men and women to quickly name the colors in which different words were displayed. During the tests, participants were told to step four paces to the left, right, backward or forward. In a subset of the trickier trials (ones where the words didn't relate in any way to the colors they were displayed in) performance was quickest when the subjects stepped four paces backward.

"Backward locomotion appears to be a very powerful trigger to mobilize cognitive resources," concluded the authors, of Radboud University Nijmegen. "Thus, whenever you encounter a difficult situation, stepping backward may boost your capability to deal with it effectively."

Wondering why researchers conducted such a seemingly nutty experiment to begin with?

It's part of a larger field of study of the way body movements alter people's thinking and/or emotions. Flexing or extending the arms, for example — the motions involved in either pulling or pushing — can make someone more apt to like or dislike something, respectively, researchers reported. Pushing and backing away are avoidance actions, such actions are "usually performed in the context of aversive or problematic conditions that require enhanced control in order to focus on relevant information and to ward off negative consequences," the authors say.