{"id":15398,"date":"2018-05-22T18:07:17","date_gmt":"2018-05-22T16:07:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hatrabbits.com\/?p=15398"},"modified":"2018-05-22T18:51:51","modified_gmt":"2018-05-22T16:51:51","slug":"does-alcohol-make-you-more-creative","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hatrabbits.com\/en\/does-alcohol-make-you-more-creative\/","title":{"rendered":"Does alcohol make you more creative?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Great news for all boozers looking for an excuse to drink (and not such great news for teetotalers with creative aspirations); researchers seem to have confirmed what many long suspected: alcohol makes you more creative. This obviously invokes the question: should you organise your next brainstorm session in a nearby pub?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

I won\u2019t deny having participated in the odd beer-fueled creative session with friends in a local pub.<\/p>\n

The ideas appear to be most creative somewhere\u00a0between the point where you order the first beer and the point where the barman starts looking at you funny. It seems a little bit of Dutch courage<\/em> positively impacts your idea output.<\/p>\n

A small scientific experiment<\/a><\/span> at the Mississippi State University seems to show that this effect is not merely a figment of our booze-fueled imagination. Alcohol really does<\/em> help you to think more creatively.<\/p>\n

Why does alcohol lead to more creative solutions?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Numbing your brain with a shot of the good stuff makes you abandon fixed thinking patterns. A sober mind easily filters out all irrelevant information and allows you to focus on the information that (judging by previous experiences and existing knowledge) seems most useful. This is great when having to make quick decisions, yet hinders creativity (as unusual options are typically the most creative).<\/p>\n

Alcohol is the thug that kneecaps your brain\u2019s filter. No longer capable of efficiently filtering irrelevant alternatives, your brain is a lot less focused. This lack of focus allows you to consider many different possibilities. Not just the most logical (and boring) ones. A tipsy brain is less biased and gives strange, wild and absolutely ridiculous<\/a> ideas a fair chance.<\/p>\n

A tipsy mind is an open mind.<\/p>\n

Nothing new<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The idea that alcohol makes you more creative is not new.<\/p>\n

A couple of years ago, Danish brewer \u2018Rocket Brewing Company\u2019 launched an alcoholic beverage that supposedly makes you more creative:\u00a0The Problem Solver<\/a><\/u>. This \u2018delicious way to reach your creative peak\u2019 brings 7,1% of creativity fuel to the table and is based on earlier research that indicated that when reaching an alcohol level of 0,75\u2030, the average person comes up with the most creative solutions. The Danes even added a handy scale to the side of the bottle, showing you exactly how many sips you are removed from your creative breakthrough.<\/p>\n

\"Problem

Find your creative peak with ‘The Problem Solver’, brewed by\u00a0Rocket Brewing Company<\/a><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Shots for all?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Should you then immediately grab a beer any time a creative solution is required?<\/p>\n

No. Unfortunately, it\u2019s not necessarily justified to enthusiastically reach for a refreshing beverage. There are better (and healthier) ways to escape your (limiting) thinking patterns.<\/p>\n

Just like depriving yourself of sleep<\/u><\/a>, downing a couple of pints might certainly lead to more (unusual) alternatives. However, these creative results are also attainable without sacrificing your night\u2019s rest or sobriety.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re looking for a creative boost, there are many thinking techniques<\/u><\/a> to choose from. To force yourself to look for solutions in unlikely places, you might, for instance, ask yourself how an infamous celebrity<\/u><\/a> would handle your challenge. Or ask yourself what would happen if you would first make the situation even worse<\/u><\/a>!<\/p>\n

Even the task of picking the right thinking techniques for your particular challenge doesn\u2019t have to be a hassle. We\u2019ve created an application that serves you the perfect combination of fun and effective techniques to tackle your challenge; Brightstorming<\/u><\/a>. The application is currently available in Dutch and an English version will follow soon.<\/p>\n