A cold brew to get your creative juices flowing
Ever wanted an excuse to crack open a cold one? Research has shown that drinking a small amount of alcohol can actually boost your creativity. This would mean that having a drink could actually be beneficial for your brain. Who would’ve thought?
Research
The study was carried out by a team of researchers from Switzerland. Two groups of people participated: one group was allowed to drink a beer, the other group got a non-alcoholic drink. Both groups weren’t aware of whether or not their drink would contain alcohol. After enjoying their beverage and watching a 30-minute documentary on South Africa, the groups had to solve a riddle in which they had to think of a word that could be matched with the words ‘Swiss’, ‘blue’ and ‘cake’, the answer being ‘cheese’. The group that had been drinking an alcoholic beverage figured out the riddle more quickly than the ‘sober’ group.
Explanation
The lead author of the study explains in an interview with The Independent that alcohol is linked with creativity. Apparently a small amount of alcohol in your blood can increase certain aspects of your creativity. But of course there’s a catch. If you drink too much, your creativity can actually get impaired. So what’s the ideal amount of alcohol you need to become more productive? This differs depending on your weight but around two or three drinks would be the maximum you need to get to the magic number of a 0.07% blood alcohol level. According to a study by the University of Illinois, this will help you solve problems and get you more ‘spontaneous insights’.
Just make sure that when you drink a beer to boost your creativity, you do it while working from home; drinking while driving is never recommended, no matter how creative the beer will make you.
Also read: Yes, beer is healthier than we expected it to be: these are 5 health benefits
Source: Vinepair, The Independent | Image: Unsplash, Fábio Alves