Hey, we knew there was a reason booze and higher learning went so well together. According to a new study, an alcohol buzz (not downing an entire bottle) can actually increase creative cognition.
The study, published in Consciousness and Cognition, included 40 men ages 21 to 30 who watched a movie while they were asked to complete verbal puzzles (ie: Which word goes along with the previous three?). Half of the men were given enough of a vodka and cranberry juice drink to get their blood alcohol content to .075—just below the legal limit of 0.08—while the other half were sober.
The results? The buzzed guys solved problems faster than the sober ones—taking an average of 11.5 seconds versus 15.2—and out of 20 problems, correctly solved nine versus six for the sober set.
"Alcohol manipulates focus," says Jennifer Wiley, Ph.D., and coauthor of the study. If you're doing taxes—not such a good thing. But when it comes to puzzles or "out of the box" tasks, relaxation and flexibility—what you're feeling after a few drinks—can spark creativity. You're more likely to let your mind wander, she says.
Next time you're enjoying some post-class brews, consider new ways to approach that project or how the hell you're going to make your professor happy after last week's disaster midterm.
Drunk as a skunk? Keep your thoughts to yourself. University of Missouri researchers found that when you're drunk, the signal that warns your brain that you're about to make a mistake is significantly duller than when you're sober.
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