Enhancing Creativity with Microdosing
Minor hits of psychedelics are becoming more popular with those who want to boost creativity, improve focus and get more done. These tiny doses, known as microdosing, have become a buzzword in the tech industry and among artists.
A new study published in the Journal of Neuroscience found that psilocybin microdoses improved two thinking types crucial to creativity. They boosted fluid intelligence, which is the ability to solve problems using many different solutions, and convergent thinking, which involves finding one solution that fits the problem.
Creativity in Writing
Many people find that taking psychedelics, especially psilocybin mushrooms, helps them to tap into their creativity. From Silicon Valley leaders to visionary artists, it's said that they find creative breakthroughs while consuming these mushrooms.
But if you're not into the idea of taking a trip, there is another way to enhance your creativity: with microdosing. Unlike full-blown LSD trips, which can be highly mind-bending, microdosing is a much more sensible yet powerful way to increase your creative juices.
A new study published in the journal Psychopharmacology found that a small, sub-perceptual dose of psilocybin mushrooms (the same compound used to make magic truffles) can positively affect your creativity. Specifically, microdosing can improve your creative problem-solving abilities, particularly in divergent and convergent thinking.
In addition to boosting your ability to develop new ideas, microdosing can help you stick with a project and focus on details that may otherwise get lost. This is especially useful when it comes to writing.
A recent study in the Netherlands, conducted by researchers from Leiden University, found that microdosing can boost a person's creativity by improving their convergent thinking skills. This aligns with other studies that have found a link between high-dose psychedelics and better creative performance.
Creativity in Drawing
Whether you're a beginner or a professional, there are plenty of ways to enhance creativity in the drawing. These include practicing daily, using high-quality art materials, not exaggerating certain features, and focusing on art skill-building.
Creativity in the drawing is a process that takes time and effort to perfect. It's also a process that requires you to use your imagination. You can boost your creativity by trying different techniques and styles of art.
In addition to increasing your creativity, drawing is a great way to practice color theory. This is important because it helps you understand how different colors relate to each other and tell a story.
You can also draw to improve your memory. This is because drawing and doodling exercise the right hemisphere of your brain, which helps you focus and remember things better.
This is especially true for young children, who may need more focused attention and attention to detail than adults. It's also a great way to help your child connect with the world around them through their creativity.
Another way to foster creativity in your child is to make drawing a part of their daily routine. This can be done with a piece of paper and colored pencils or by scheduling a dedicated drawing time.
You can also help your child enhance their creativity by encouraging them to try new art techniques and styles. Taking them to art museums and galleries can allow them to try out new things they might not otherwise have the chance to do. It is also a good idea to introduce them to the basics of art history, as it helps them understand how artists got started in the field.
Creativity in Painting
Creativity is a skill that can be developed with practice. It's not a trait that comes naturally to many people, but it is necessary for artists. It's all about finding new ways to solve problems and approach situations.
If you want to improve your creativity in painting, it's essential to make time for practicing. Set a weekly goal to learn and practice a specific art technique. This will help you to understand the process better and learn how to create something new in a short amount of time.
For example, if you have difficulty with soft value changes, focus on learning to paint lines consistently and adequately. This will allow you to enhance your painting skills and improve your work in a brief period.
Similarly, if you need help developing ideas for your paintings, expand your horizons and look at different artworks. This will give you more ideas to use for your next art project.
In addition to developing your creative skills, you should also ensure that you stay healthy and hydrated. Psychedelics are known to reduce stress and boost immune system function, so you must stay on top of your health and keep yourself well-nourished. Lastly, exercise regularly and get out into nature as much as possible. This will also help you to recharge your creative engine and keep it running at its best.
Creativity in Music
Music is one of the most creative forms of expression. It requires the right brain's divergent thinking (imagining and expanding the mind to generate novel ideas) and the left's convergent thinking (narrowing down and identifying the best solution).
Although creativity is often a natural part of being an artist, sometimes sustaining that ability over long periods can be difficult. In such situations, seeking ways to enhance creativity in your daily life can be helpful.
Several studies have shown that small, sub-perceptual doses of LSD and psilocybin mushrooms can boost creative thinking and even lead to extraordinary breakthroughs in the arts and sciences. But new research suggests that the effects of microdosing may not be as clear-cut as previously thought.
This is especially true for musicians who work essentially alone. As a result, they often find themselves hitting a creative wall at times.
However, musicians can improve their creativity by reassessing their work and trying different approaches. In particular, this is the case when it comes to songwriting.
While writing a song, it can be helpful to separate the creation and editing stages of the process. This is because the former can lead to a creative flow where the brain is free to let loose and be inspired by whatever it hears, while the latter is a more rational, pragmatic step-by-step process that requires a lot of self-editing.
Creativity in Sports
Microdosing, or ingesting small doses of psychoactive substances, has become popular with athletes and artists looking to enhance their performance, mental clarity, and well-being. It's also becoming increasingly common in other industries, such as the tech and medical fields.
In team ball sports such as soccer, highly skilled players are often credited with producing creative decisional actions. Creating original and appropriate solutions in game situations is what we call tactical creativity, which helps players beat athletically superior opponents and generate excitement for fans.
However, it is a challenging skill to develop and is only sometimes easy for coaches to teach. Moreover, players, especially young ones, can take creative ideas too far and over-complicate them, often detracting from performance.
Several studies have suggested that a wide breadth (openness) of attention is critical for creative performance. Embedding this conceptualization in our study, we explored whether enhancing motor skills would foster creativity in youth football players.
We compared two groups of elite youth football players, one with improved football-specific DT (DT group) and the other with improved functional skill repertoire (FS group). The FS group showed significantly more improved creativity during training than the DT group. This result challenges the commonly-held view that DT is the core creative ability in sports and suggests that enhancing functional skills may facilitate both functionality and creativity during play.
Creativity in Business
A growing number of people in business are turning to psychedelics, including magic mushrooms and truffles, to help them boost creativity and productivity. Several studies have shown that microdosing with psychedelics can stoke creativity, stabilize mood, and kick productivity into gear.
A recent study in the Netherlands found that a small dose of psychedelic truffles improved participants' problem-solving skills. After taking the truffles, they performed better on tests that measured convergent and divergent thinking, essential for creativity.
Convergent thinking involves using logical reasoning and a rules-based approach to solving problems. The test required participants to select the right picture of three objects: a bathtub, sink, and hose.
Meanwhile, the divergent thinking task required them to devise as many alternative uses for an object as possible. For example, a pen might be used as a tracheotomy or finger splint.
The psychedelics in the truffles may have enhanced both convergent and divergent thinking. This change is consistent with prior studies that found that psychedelic substances can boost creativity and concentration.
Among the challenges, cognitive interference and self-interference were most often reported. These challenges included confusion, disorientation, and racing thoughts. Other perceived challenges were generally less reported but included substance-related concerns regarding taste, pupil dilation, the duration of effects, and the unknown risk-effect profile of the microdosing itself.
