According to a published study, movements affect how efficiently people retrieve and retell autobiographical memories with emotional content. More interesting however, is that some movements influence the retrieval of memories more than others.
The participant of this study had to move marbles from one cardboard box to another while talking about previous experiences. It was found that they moved the marbles faster in a direction congruent with the valence of the memory. When the movements of the marbles were done upward the participants remembered more positive life experiences while, when the moving of the marbles was done downward, more negative ones.
It seems incredible a result like this, but it only confirms how everything is connected in the human brain. The things that we do with our bodies affect how we think but also what we choose to think about.
The seemingly meaningless bodily action does have a great impact… shall brands and businesses start thinking more of how movement could be used to maybe create a more positive experience?