Beer or coffee - which is better for creativity?

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

History knows dozens of journalists, writers, poets and artists who made a huge contribution to the development of world culture - and at the same time were not alien to alcohol (and, frankly, they drank a lot:)). Modern people of creative professions - designers, copywriters, bloggers, journalists, SMMs - lean on coffee, sometimes consuming it in some unimaginable quantities. We have previously talked about how caffeine is harmful and what the benefits of coffee can be. It's time to compare the impact of coffee and beer on the creative process.

Mikael Cho, the developer and founder of the startup, decided to compare how the consumption of each of the two drinks mentioned above affects the overall performance.

What is creativity? Scientifically speaking, the creative process is coming up with something new and original by connecting a set of existing ideas as a result of brain activity. Neurotransmitters such as adenosine are responsible for the formation of connections between ideas. Adenosine signals to the brain that the energy supply is running out, and slows down the frequency of emerging impulses and connections between neurons.

Adenosine acts as a "monitor" for your brain's "recharging" level … This is why, after working a couple of hours straight, you feel tired, and ideas "run out". To recharge, you need to either have a rest, or use a "secret weapon": stimulants of chemical or natural origin.

What Happens to Your Brain When You Drink Coffee

Think about what exactly you feel after a cup of espresso or latte. Your concentration increases, you start to speak and act more lively, the text on the keyboard is typed "by itself", and calls can be answered 2 times faster.

The increase in productivity is due to the fact that caffeine blocks adenosine receptors, and your brain is "tricked" into thinking that it is not tired. The effect lasts for a certain time and occurs within 5 minutes after drinking a cup of coffee. Blocking adenosine leads to excess activity at the expense of glucose, dopamine, and glutamate.

In fact, coffee does not give you energy: it is just that caffeine “tells” your body to work further, “informing” that all energy reserves are in order, even if this has not been the case for a long time.

The peak effect of coffee is achieved after 15 minutes or within 2 hours from the moment of consumption (depending on the strength of the drink). In the blood, caffeine causes an increase in adrenaline and cortisol. If the process of such artificial stimulation occurs too often, then in order to maintain an excited and focused state, the body needs more and more adrenaline over time (and this is more than the average heart can handle).

Medical research has shown that over time, even with the regular consumption of small amounts of coffee, the body develops resistance to caffeine, and you will need more and more of this stimulant for an "invigorating" effect.

Why does everyone know about alcoholic artists, but there are no drunken accountants?

Unlike coffee, a couple of cups of which produces - albeit short-lived - the effect of an increase in productivity and focus, a couple of glasses of beer (or even one bottle) reduces the level of attention and concentration. For those who get behind the wheel, this effect is fraught with death.

But researchers at the University of Illinois have found that alcohol is not always harmful to the creative process. Studies have shown that blood alcohol levels are of the order of 0.07 (2 small glasses of booze) improved results in creative tasks, but reduced efficiency in solving logic and memorization tests. Alcohol improves creative problem solving and expands the imagination, but it is not suitable for precision and focus.

Another interesting study of the properties of beer and other alcoholic beverages involved comparative testing of 18 creative directors from advertising agencies. One group could drink any amount of alcohol in the course of solving creative problems, while the other had to remain completely sober and could not use any "stimulants" for the creative process. Each group was given 3 hours of time to solve problems with the same brief. As a result, the “drinking” group not only generated more ideas than the “teetotal” group, but also brought 4 of the 5 best ideas from the brief.

Does this mean that in ad agencies, copywriting studios, and development teams, everyone has to drink all day long to "come up" with the best ideas and solutions?

Coffee and Beer: Is Balance Possible?

Both coffee and beer - as research shows - can be useful stimulants for the creative process. But none of these drinks are right for you when it comes to meticulous and analytical work, like the work of an accountant, developer, or financial analyst.

Yes, beer relaxes and gives the brain "room to fly" … Yes, in order to create creative solutions and search for new ideas, your brain needs to relax and feel some kind of "insight":

In the process of "insight", alpha waves are involved in the activity of the brain … But here's the curious thing: similar alpha waves also occur during walks in the fresh air, in the shower or in the toilet, during meditation and even during gymnastics. Maybe you should choose them as a "relaxant" instead of another bottle of beer?

As for coffee, then this drink, on the contrary, helps to concentrate and feel a surge of energy and "drive". At the same time, you act faster, but you think less, the level of abstract thinking decreases. In fact, you can do stupid things faster, but this does not mean at all that drinking caffeine will do your job better and more correctly than without it. In addition, the complete elimination of caffeine from the body takes up to 10 hours, which means that there is a great risk of sleep disturbance and metabolic processes in the body, if you regularly "lean" on espresso. As a result, you will not only become more productive, but you will also get more tired.

Neither coffee nor beer should be taken as a "magic pill" for creativity

Both of these drinks induce chemical processes in the body that, with long-term practice, are not good for you. Regular meals, adequate sleep, walks and moments of relaxation and change of activities can have a much more positive effect on your performance and well-being than a cup of coffee or a glass of beer. Don't forget this.