Movement and thinking.

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Forgive me if this has been brought up in a previous thread that I am expected to search for. (I tried, though).

I find myself thinking at a "higher level" when I move my body at the same time. For example, when I sit alone, I rock my body back and forth when I am thinking about something that... well, I don't really know what words to use here, but, for example, when I read about physics, I move all the time. I don't move on purpose, I just do it. I like to say it's an automatic, cognitive turbo. When I move I am also much more "closed", which means I pay much less attention to my surroundings and much more attention to what I am thinking about. Sometimes I get so closed that I have no idea what just happened around me the time I was closed. I usually stare while moving, too.

I am wondering if anyone else has this experience and wants to share it, if there is any science on this out there somewhere, anything you might find relevant.

I can be a lot like that, movement disorder notwithstanding. I think it's common in kinesthetic people.

Wow, this is the first time I can remember that someone mentions this strong connection between thought and movement. It's there for me, too. I start moving (walking around the house, jumping up and down, flapping my hands) when I think about something that fascinates me, mostly when it also triggers strong feelings of excitedness. And when I'm walking or riding my bike, it seems to accelerate my thinking. The first one, the thought/feeling -> movement thing, is no problem because it usually happens when I'm alone, but the other, the movement -> thinking thing, can lead me to not pay enough attention at my surroundings.

I think best in an almost frozen charlotte position.

Motion is when I am upset and unsettled.

Have a very subtle difficulty coordinating thought and movement along the lines of using a hand puppet or string puppet or a yo-yo. Am ADHD Inattentive and for me, for some reason, the old medicine - coffee - caffeine compounds - will temporarily improve for about four hours or so (not a cure) small aspects of the ability to do gross motor movements, fine motor movements, and cross the midline of the body. There also is another neurological challenge called Parkinson's which involves ideas like thought and movement but Parkinson's is different than ADHD / ADHD Inattentive. I think a little better by relaxing, not moving a lot vs moving a lot and trying to think in depth. People are different and my general view is: whatever works is what works. What works for one person may not work for the next person and that's 100% normal.

There is a reason that many people pace back and forth when they're deep in thought

If I'm thinking a lot about something interesting, I'll start pacing around. If I try to stop for whatever reason (others getting annoyed, for example), soon I'll find myself in the middle of doing it again.
So sometimes I take advantage of this and go for a walk

The more my body moves, the more my mind moves. Mind and body are very much connected. Of course, my main problem is that if I'm moving too much, SOMEFATBODY will ask me why I'm moving around...and my entire train of thought is ground to a halt, and the electricity has to get rerouted. Unfortunately, such speeds aren't very easy to attain.

And this reason is?

I couldn't say exactly considering I don't do it. But it is logical to assume that there is a reason considering it is a known phenomenon and not restricted to people with an ASD. The OP posits a plausible explanation but you need someone higher trained than I to explain beyond a reasonable doubt why people do what they do.

I don't have an explanation for it, but I definitely do it. Sometimes it's the only way I can assemble particular ideas into a workable form.

Walking helps a lot, but any motion will do. Partly it's calming and makes it easier for me to focus on something specific, partly it makes it easier for me to work through a lot of the random thoughts that just seem to build up over time and get them out of my system.

When I was young and years away from learning about AS, I always told my family that my mind was constantly running off and I meant it literally cuz I always had to pace around when I think or even when I am listening to a song. My friend who has AS tends to do this whenever we watch TV together and I gotta say it's really interesting to see other aspies in action.

I haven't noticed something like that.
But it seems like my sight will almost imperceptibly get better, a tiny bit, if I take out my headphones. Probably just my imagination, but if it goes to silence from a mishmash of noise, things become easier to take in. Well, I don't know why I'm saying that, it's probably pretty normal. But it's something that gets noticeably (barely) better, rather than just a mysterious improvement in concentration.

Oh. howzit brah, i''m the same way! wich is why i like walking and listening to my CD player.
it really makes my mind go wild. i can fantasize so much better when i move!!

I don't know what a "charlotte position" is, but I also think best when perfectly still. When really thinking, I don't so much as move my eyes, and even my usual foot fidgetiness stops.

I move when reading to better concentrate on it. Also when I'm moving around a whole lot I think much more clearly. I have taken to throwing or kicking a tennis ball around.