How Drinking Alcohol Makes You More Creative: Drink Up For More 'Aha!' Moments

Drink Up and Broaden Your Imaginary Horizons

Alcohol worsens our working memory and impedes the brain’s executive processes, causing us also to become unaware of what’s going on around us and unable to concentrate on tasks at hand. That’s why people can’t drink and drive, or operate heavy machinery — they’re just not going to do it right. But what’s lost in our ability to focus is gained in our ability to think creatively. In 2012, researchers from the University of Illinois showed how creative people could be when happily drunk.

Their study, “Uncorking the Muse: Alcohol Intoxication Facilitates Creative Problem Solving,” looked at the ability of 40 men, whose blood alcohol content was 0.075 (just under the legal limit), to solve a creative problem-solving task. Called the Remote Associates Test (RAT), participants were given three words, such as “peach,” “arm,” and “tar,” and asked to come up with another word that could go with each to form a two-word phrase — in this case, the word was “pit.” The test works because the most obvious responses are usually incorrect, forcing participants to think creatively. Indeed, all of the intoxicated participants came up with correct answers, and they were more “insightful,” too.

Another study, called the “Newt/Judge Experiment,” involved 18 advertising creatives who were split into two groups. One group was allowed to drink all the alcohol they wanted, while the other group could only get water. For three hours, each group worked on an ad campaign about binge drinking, and at the end of the brainstorming, a group of top creative directors judged each idea.

As you’d probably expect, the drinkers came out on top, with four out of the five best ideas, as well as the most ideas. These included seats that were only for people drinking water and water bottles as club tickets — the label had the club name and someone would only be allowed in if the bottle was empty. Then, to get a second opinion, the experimenters asked groups of pub goers, ages 18 to 30, which ones they liked. Again, the drinkers’ ideas were chosen as better.

Drink, Relax the Brain, and Aha!

Researcher Mark Beeman, from Northwestern University, conducted two experiments with researchers from Drexel University, which looked at the source of the “Eureka,” or “Aha!” moment. Using brain scans, they found that participants who were concentrating too hard would sometimes block the creative processes necessary for problem solving (i.e. writers' block). But among participants who were relaxed, and not thinking about solving their problems, moments of “Eureka” were preceded by an upsurge of activity — only 1.5 seconds before — in the superior temporal gyrus, an area of the brain directly above the ear.

So, considering that drinking makes you relaxed, there’s a higher chance you’ll have an “Aha!” moment. Pair that with alcohol’s ability to reduce function in executive function, while boosting imagination and inner consciousness, and it looks like drinking will make you more creative. Drink too much, though, and you might end up passing out.

http://www.medicaldaily.com/how-drinking-alcohol-makes-you-more-creative-drink-more-aha-moments-271026

I get quite lively on drink, but if I'm sitting around watching TV and drinking....forget it. I'm asleep too soon.

I will now down several pints of Old Gruntfuttock's XXXX and a couple of single malts...and then sit down and "create" an effective method of killing all those bloody moles that are systematically wrecking my lawn, paddock and yard in what is clearly their idea of retribution upon me for usurping their species designation.

Fred Moletrousers wrote:I will now down several pints of Old Gruntfuttock's XXXX and a couple of single malts...and then sit down and "create" an effective method of killing all those bloody moles that are systematically wrecking my lawn, paddock and yard in what is clearly their idea of retribution upon me for usurping their species designation.

Or....? Have a nap!

eddie wrote:Drink Up and Broaden Your Imaginary Horizons

Alcohol worsens our working memory and impedes the brain’s executive processes, causing us also to become unaware of what’s going on around us and unable to concentrate on tasks at hand. That’s why people can’t drink and drive, or operate heavy machinery — they’re just not going to do it right. But what’s lost in our ability to focus is gained in our ability to think creatively. In 2012, researchers from the University of Illinois showed how creative people could be when happily drunk.

Their study, “Uncorking the Muse: Alcohol Intoxication Facilitates Creative Problem Solving,” looked at the ability of 40 men, whose blood alcohol content was 0.075 (just under the legal limit), to solve a creative problem-solving task. Called the Remote Associates Test (RAT), participants were given three words, such as “peach,” “arm,” and “tar,” and asked to come up with another word that could go with each to form a two-word phrase — in this case, the word was “pit.” The test works because the most obvious responses are usually incorrect, forcing participants to think creatively. Indeed, all of the intoxicated participants came up with correct answers, and they were more “insightful,” too.

Another study, called the “Newt/Judge Experiment,” involved 18 advertising creatives who were split into two groups. One group was allowed to drink all the alcohol they wanted, while the other group could only get water. For three hours, each group worked on an ad campaign about binge drinking, and at the end of the brainstorming, a group of top creative directors judged each idea.

As you’d probably expect, the drinkers came out on top, with four out of the five best ideas, as well as the most ideas. These included seats that were only for people drinking water and water bottles as club tickets — the label had the club name and someone would only be allowed in if the bottle was empty. Then, to get a second opinion, the experimenters asked groups of pub goers, ages 18 to 30, which ones they liked. Again, the drinkers’ ideas were chosen as better.

Drink, Relax the Brain, and Aha!

Researcher Mark Beeman, from Northwestern University, conducted two experiments with researchers from Drexel University, which looked at the source of the “Eureka,” or “Aha!” moment. Using brain scans, they found that participants who were concentrating too hard would sometimes block the creative processes necessary for problem solving (i.e. writers' block). But among participants who were relaxed, and not thinking about solving their problems, moments of “Eureka” were preceded by an upsurge of activity — only 1.5 seconds before — in the superior temporal gyrus, an area of the brain directly above the ear.

So, considering that drinking makes you relaxed, there’s a higher chance you’ll have an “Aha!” moment. Pair that with alcohol’s ability to reduce function in executive function, while boosting imagination and inner consciousness, and it looks like drinking will make you more creative. Drink too much, though, and you might end up passing out.

http://www.medicaldaily.com/how-drinking-alcohol-makes-you-more-creative-drink-more-aha-moments-271026

I get quite lively on drink, but if I'm sitting around watching TV and drinking....forget it. I'm asleep too soon.

It's true that you get more creative after having a drink or a spliff.
Most of my poems of old were written on the spot after having a drink or two or a blow and some of them were quite good lol!

Had a "blow" a few years ago, it hurt to wee for a week!

nicko wrote:Had a "blow"  a few years ago, it hurt to wee for a week!

I don't think you smoked it right.