I'm going to say something controversial: I quite like being hungover. Not the vomiting-in-a-bin, head-splitting sort after downing three bottles of vodka. But that peculiar state the morning after just a couple of pints too many, when your body feels like it's been through a tumble dryer but your mind is oddly clear. It's often when I do my best work.
I know how this sounds. Hangovers are meant to be awful. But there I am, groaning and fuzzy-headed, yet being more creative and productive than usual. It's as though someone's taken a duster to the cobwebs in my brain.
Why does the hangover effect inspire creativity?
So what's going on, exactly? Well, from what I've read, there's a possibility the "clarity" we're all talking about could be a compensatory stress response. This means your brain is working furiously to overcome the toxins, which for a neurodivergent person can accidentally mimic the effects of a stimulant.
That dovetails with the fact that a couple of friends with ADHD have told me their usual brain fog lifts entirely during a hangover. The executive dysfunction that normally pins them to the sofa vanishes, replaced by a fresh motivation and efficiency. One told me she finally understands what neurotypical people mean when they say they "just did something", without wrestling their brain into submission first.
For me, though, I think it's less about neurology and more about social permission. Because let's face it, suffering a hangover is one of the few socially acceptable excuses to do nothing. We live in a culture that treats rest like a moral failing. But announce you're hungover? Suddenly society allows you to lie in bed, order a takeaway, ignore your phone. And here's the kicker: that enforced downtime creates space for creativity to actually breathe.
I do some of my best thinking when I'm supposedly 'recovering'. My usual anxious overthinking quiets down. The perfectionism that normally strangles my writing loosens its grip. I'm feeling too rough to care about making things perfect... so I just make them.
It might also have to do with what I've done the night before. If I got drunk enough to have a hangover, it's likely I did a fair amount of shooting my mouth off. And that might mean I've got a few things off my chest, leaving me feeling a little lighter as a result – as long as I didn't get slapped in the process, that is.
Not a realistic strategy
Of course, even if you've experience this yourself, it would still be a terrible idea to drink your way to productivity. Hangovers are a clear sign you've overdone it, and the implications of regular heavy drinking are serious. I have friends who are actual alcoholics and I wouldn't wish this awful condition on my worst enemy.
But what I would say is. If you're going to have the occasional heavy night – whether by design or "just one more pint" accident – you might as well appreciate the unexpected gifts that arrive with the morning-after misery.
Until neuroscience figures out how to bottle that specific combination of brain chemicals without the alcohol and subsequent suffering, I'll avoid hangovers if I can. But if I do end up overdoing it, and feeling terrible in the morning, at least there'll be the silver lining of letting my mind wander and getting a fresh perspective on my life and work. With a large glass of water and a bacon sandwich within arm's reach, of course.
For a surer way to build your creative muscles, see our roundup of five-minute creative exercises and Ben Tallon's tips on how creatives can stay optimistic.
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