The gestures we make while we speak, the language of signs, serve to reinforce the message we want to convey. Basically, they are a reflection of what we feel and think. However, until now we had never thought that the way we gesticulate can influence our thinking. How? University of Chicago researchers devised a very interesting experiment that allowed them to observe how gestures influence thinking. First, they asked the participants to solve the Tower of Hanoi problem (a math game in which eight increasing discs and three poles are used, the goal is to transferrings from pole to pole and form a perfect tower) Once finished, people had to explain how they had solved the problem. The interesting thing is that this is practically impossible to explain without using your hands since only with them is it possible to indicate how the rings have moved. These are gestures that are done naturally. Well, the researchers looked at how these people gesticulated, and then people were asked to solve the problem again, but this time with an additional degree of complexity. So they realized that people who gesticulated more and used both hands came to the solution faster.It is worth remembering that this is not the only study that emphasizes the importance of gestures for cognitive function. In the past, researchers at the University of New South Wales found that when children were prevented from gesturing, they had difficulty remembering the information they shared a short time ago. Instead, gesturing allowed them to consolidate information in memory.
