Caffeine's Impact Upon Creativity: Is It Positive or Negative?

As you know, coffee, unless it’s decaf, contains caffeine, sometimes quite a bit of caffeine, depending upon the strength of the blend, and caffeine not only enhances physical performance but also heightens mental alertness and short-term memory, improves concentration and focus, and increases the ability to solve problems and to make decisions that involve rational thinking.     

Some studies have shown yet another benefit of coffee, and that is how it “appears to improve cognitive function and decrease the risk of depression;” therefore, making you more apt to be creative (Hensrud, 2014, para. 4). What’s more, other studies have demonstrated that drinking coffee induces a euphoric state that often supersedes a stage of enlightenment in which you are more apt to experience creative ideas and insights (Vanderbilt, 2010).

Can Coffee Actually Suppress Creativity?  

Then again, as is often the case when it comes to studies, it seems that controversy surrounds the question of the impact caffeine has upon creativity and whether that impact is positive or negative. For instance, Maria Konnikova (2013) noted in an article for The New Yorker that the improved concentration and focus we get from caffeine comes at a cost, and that cost is our creative thinking. She says this is the case because the acts associated with creativity involve linking ideas, entities, and concepts in novel ways, an ability that “depends in part on the very thing that caffeine seeks to prevent: a wandering, unfocused mind.”

Complicating matters, caffeine also inhibits sleep, another mental process necessary for creative thinking. A 2009 study, for instance, demonstrated that individuals who experience REM sleep (Rapid Eye Movement associate with dreaming) performed better on creative-thinking tests than individuals who napped or rested but did not enter the REM cycle. Why? Because during REM, our brains integrate unassociated information so that, upon waking, we are more adept at solving problems we had tried to solve before sleeping but couldn’t. As Konnikova (2013) says, “Sleep deprivation has also been linked to negative effects on other elements associated with creativity and thought clarity: it diminishes emotional intelligence, constructive thinking, and the ability to cope with stress.” 

Can Caffeine Simulate the Creative Mind?

n the other hand, James Hamblin, writing for The Atlantic (2013), argues that Konnikova is wrong and caffeine does not so much undermine our creativity as stimulate it. While Hamblin does not cite any studies to support his argument, he does quote Stephen Braun, author of Buzz: The Science and Lore of Alcohol and Caffeine (n.d.), who explained that caffeine “blocks the adenosine receptors in the brain.” What this means, according to Braun, as quoted by Hamblin, is that caffeine is an “indirect stimulant, as opposed to, say, amphetamine which liberates dopamine, a directly stimulating neurotransmitter. By blocking adenosine receptors, caffeine allows the brain's own stimulating neurotransmitters (i.e. glutamate and dopamine) to do their thing with greater gusto and less restraint.”

The problem with such intense focus, as Konnikova points out and Hamblin agrees, is that  “moments of insight and genius come in the shower, on walks, doing hot yoga; when the mind is less focused and allowed to wander” (Hamblin, 2013); and if the mind is overstimulated, theoretically, its creative potential could be diminished. The key word, though, is “theoretically,” since evidence to the contrary abounds, namely because many highly creative individuals consume great quantities of coffee and, therefore, caffeine. For example, according to Brendan O’Hare in an article for The New Yorker (2015), the nineteenth-century French writer Honoré de Balzac supposedly consumed 50 cups of coffee per day; and according to Mason Currey, writing for Slate, L. Frank Baum, author ofThe Wonderful Wizard of Oz, would down four or five strong cups each morning at breakfast, and mathematician Paul Erdös fueled his long work hours with espresso shots and caffeine tablets. Other “coffeeholics” included Beethoven, Proust, Glenn Gould, Francis Bacon, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Gustav Mahler.

The Final Decision on Coffee

 So, what is the answer? Does coffee undermine your creativity or enhance it? Apparently the jury is still out, but until the final verdict is in, presuming it ever is, perhaps the best approach to take is the one that works for you. If consuming caffeine makes you feel more creative, then it more than likely does have a positive effect, but if the opposite is true, then maybe you should consider curbing your caffeine intake or switching to decaf.  You decide.

Sources:

Currey, M. (2013) Coffee!! Slate: Daily Rituals. Retrieved from http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/features/2013/daily_rituals/coffee

Hamblin, J. (2013) Caffeine: For the More Creative Mind. The Atlantic. Retrieved from http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/06/caffeine-for-the-more-creative-mind/277069/

Hensrud, D. (2014) M.D.Is Coffee Good or Bad for Me? Mayo Clinic. Retrieved from http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/expert-answers/coffee-and-health/faq-20058339

Konnikova, M. (2013) How Caffeine Can Cramp Creativity. The New Yorker. Retrieved from http://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/how-caffeine-can-cramp-creativity

O’Hare, B. (2015) What I Assume Honoré de Balzac Thought after Drinking Each of His Fifty Daily Cups of Coffee. The New Yorker. Retrieved from http://www.newyorker.com/humor/daily-shouts

Vanderbilt University Institute for Coffee Studies (2010) Is Coffee Good or Bad for Your Health? Retrieved from http://vanderbilt.edu/ics/coffee-news/

Smoking Marijuana Increases Creativity---Maybe, Maybe Not

Smoking marijuana, aka Mary Jane, pot, or weed, can free your creative muse and enable you to produce a veritable masterpiece of art, music, or literature. Or can it? Being a former flower child of the 60's Revolution and someone who smoked her share of Mary Jane (Yes, I inhaled), I have often argued that a toke or two or three can indeed make you more creative. However, after conducting some research while compiling my book Color You Creative (available on Amazon Books), I have had to reconsider that argument. 

For starters, Jason Silva, of the Huffington Post (2011), relates that Jonah Lehrer, in his posts for Science Blogs, discusses the relationship between creativity and smoking marijuana, citing a paper published in Psychiatry Research, which “sheds some light on why smoking weed seems to unleash a stream of loose associations,” resulting in increased creativity (para. 11). Apparently, according to Lehrer, creativity increases because “smoking marijuana contributes to “a phenomenon called ‘semantic priming’” (Silva, 2011, para.11).

What exactly is semantic priming? According to Lehrer, “The activation of one word allows us to react more quickly to related words;” and, interestingly, “marijuana seems to induce a state of hyper-priming, in which the reach of semantic priming extends outwards to distantly related concepts” Silva, 2011, para. 12).

In other words, smoking marijuana, according to researcher Vaughan Bell, as cited by Lehrer, causes one to experience “freewheeling thoughts,” and in the study, “volunteers who were under the influence of cannabis showed a definite "hyper-priming" tendency, where distant concepts were reacted to more quickly” (Silva, 2011, para. 13).

As Silva relates (2011),

·    "Essentially, marijuana can extend the range of our free-associative capacities. It increases the novel ways in which we find connections between ideas, and it also extends the range of ideas that we might somehow relate to one another.

While not surprising, it does offer a scientific validation for what so many artists, philosophers and scientists have been saying for ages: that marijuana is a cognitive catalyst that can trigger heightened free-associative creativity, increased pattern recognition, and insight." (Para. 14-15)

On the other hand, various other studies have proposed a link between creativity and alcohol and/or drug usage, arguing that substances such as drugs and alcohol can contribute to or even cause creativity. After all, when one is under the influence of such substances, one is usually less inhibited and, therefore, less reserved about demonstrating one’s creative impulses. (Dacey & Lennon, 1998)

In conclusion, although some theorists argue there is often a correlation between addictive behavior and creativity, studies have not supported that argument. Therefore, one might very well conclude that whereas marijuana, like alcohol and drugs, can very well act as a catalyst for creativity, since it “frees” one’s thoughts and lessens one’s inhibitions, the product itself does not actually cause one to be any more or, for that matter, less creative than one naturally is. 

Dacey, J., Lennon, K. (1998) Understanding creativity: The interplay of biological, psychological, and social factors. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Silva, J. (2011) On creativity, marijuana and "a butterfly effect in thought". Retrieved from  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jason-silva/on-creativity-marijuana-a_b_900701.html

 

The Color of Creativity: Using Color to Improve Creativity

Is one particular color any more likely to inspire your creative muse than another? Moreover, if you incorporate this color into your environment, could it perhaps even increase your creative output? While I’m sure that some of you are most likely thinking “no,” the answer is actually “yes.” In fact, studies have demonstrated that color has a powerful impact upon us humans, and the colors with which we surround ourselves can have a positive—or negative—effect upon our imagination, originality, and inventiveness. And, using one particular color in our environment can, indeed, intensify our creativity. First, however, perhaps we should have a short review session on color: 

The three primary colors are yellow, red, and blue. Secondary colors are colors created by mixing primary colors. Finally, tertiary colors (called intermediate colors) are colors made by blending one primary color with one secondary color, or by blending two secondary colors. The achromatic duo is black and white, which are not considered true colors, and every color and its various hues can be achieved through some combination of two or more primary and/or secondary colors and/or the achromatic duo. For instance, if you mix blue with yellow, you get green; red with yellow, orange; red with blue, purple; green with yellow, chartreuse; or red with blue and yellow, brown. What’s more, when you blend black with white, you get gray, which is also an achromatic, but if you add a dab of yellow and blue to the mixture, you get taupe. The exact color results, of course, depend upon how much of each primary, secondary, and/or achromatic is used.

Okay, so are you now thoroughly confused? Be that as it may, the question remains: What color is most conducive to creativity?

Let’s begin with yellow, which many of us associate with sunshine, as well as happiness. When used in your environment, yellow produces “a warming effect, arouses cheerfulness, and even stimulates mental activity,” according Raetta Parker (n.d.), author of “The Meaning of Colors.” On the other hand, according to David Johnson, author of “Color Psychology: Do Different Colors Affect Your Mood? (2007), you should be cautious about using yellow because “it is the most difficult color for the eye to take in” and can be overpowering if used to excess. What’s more, as Parker maintains, “Yellow is an unstable and spontaneous color that can also exert “a disturbing influence,” and studies have shown that “babies cry more in yellow rooms.” Therefore, we can safely conclude that yellow is not the best color for enhancing one’s creativity.

All right, so what about red, a color many of us associate with fire and passion? Well, according to Maleeka Spriggs, author of “Favorite Color Reveals Personality Type” (2009), in which she cites Faber Birren, author of 24 books on color, “Red is the color of extroversion, of a person with desire, appetite, and a will to live life fully.” Moreover, as Parker says, “Red is the color of fire and blood, so it is associated with energy, war, danger, strength, power, determination as well as passion, desire, and love.” When it comes to using red in our surroundings, however, Parker warns that we should keep in mind that it’s “a very emotionally intense color,” so red has the ability to enhance metabolism, increase respiration rate, and raise blood pressure,” leading one to the conclusion that red, like yellow, is not the ideal choice for inspiring one’s creative muse. After all, if one’s heart is pounding and blood pressure escalating, one cannot possibly be at one’s creative best.  

Lastly, we have blue. And, according to Jonah Lehrer, in an article for Science Blogs (2009), a study conducted by the University of British Columbia and published in Science (2009) showed that the color most conducive to creativity is blue because “. . . moments of creative insight are best achieved when people are in a relaxed, peaceful state of mind;” and as Johnson (200&) says, the color blue “causes the body to produce calming chemicals.” This conclusion is also supported by Parker, who says, “Blue is beneficial to the mind and body. It slows human metabolism, produces a calming effect, and is strongly associated with tranquility and calmness.”

So now you have the answer: Blue. But what if you don’t like blue? Not everyone does, after all. All right, then consider using something in the green family in your surroundings (remember the foundation for green is blue mixed with yellow). As Spriggs (2009) maintains, green is associated with nature and can create a sense of health and well-being. Plus, as Parker (n.d.) says, “Green invokes feelings of safety, has great healing power, and is the most restful color for your eyes. It also symbolizes growth, harmony, freshness, and fertility.”

In conclusion, in order to reach your full creative potential, while all colors are acceptable in moderation, you should perhaps consider painting your office or other creative “space” something in the blue family—any shade from sky blue to robin’s egg blue to periwinkle to blue gray, etc. However, if don’t like blue, go with a green shade, for example, sage, lime, apple, or perhaps teal or mint or asparagus. Of course, if you abhor blue and detest green, then go right ahead and use a shade of yellow or red, but limit its influence, perhaps reserving this brighter, more overpowering hue for throw pillows, vases, candles, or other accessories, and painting the walls a soft neutral. In the end, though, when it comes to decorating your surroundings, it’s really your call. After all, it’s your environment, and your environment should reflect your own unique creative personality, however flamboyant, vibrant, or un-blue it may be.  

This is a sample chapter from my book Color You Creative: Exploring Creativity and Rediscovering Your Inner Child, available at Amazon Books in both hard copy and Kindle versions.

Sources: 

Denman, K. (n.d.) Color Psychology & Color Association. Retrieved from Sewanee.edu

Johnson, D. (2007) Color Psychology: Do Different Colors Affect Your Mood? Pearson Education. Retrieved from infoplease.com

Lehrer, J. (2009) The Color of Creativity. Retrieved from scienceblogs.com

Parker, R. (n.d.) The Meaning of Color. Retrieved from resources.oncourse.iu.edu

Spriggs, M. (2009) Favorite Color Reveals Personality Type. Retrieved from weeklyworldnews.com