Lately, there've been plenty of food-related studies yielding terrible news–red meat is killing us all, fatty food zaps sperm, imported food may lead to disease outbreak–so it's a shocker when new research makes us think, “Heck, yeah!”
Well, here's some good news for your Friday the 13th: Drinking alcohol may enhance a person's creative problem-solving skills.
]
According to Medical Daily, scientists found that men who either drank two pints of beer or two glasses of wine before solving brain teasers got more questions right and were quicker in delivering those correct answers compared to men who answered the questions sober. (An example of a teaser: What's associated with the words blue, cottage and Swiss?)
When it comes to creative tasks, Jennifer Wiley, the study's lead author, believes that “being too focused can blind you to novel possibilities, and a broader, more flexible state of attention is needed for creative solutions to emerge.” Alcohol reduces one's ability to concentrate on something in particular, and distraction can lead to innovation. It makes sense. Writers have long known that a couple of drinks can help get the creative juices flowing and make us more bold in our decisions.
It worth noting again that this study only applies to creative skills–not relationship or driving skills.
Follow Stick a Fork In It on Twitter @ocweeklyfood or on Facebook! And don't forget to download our free Best Of App here!
