Writing Drunk II: Binge Writing

10/29/2012 0 Comments

Writing Drunk II: Binge Writing

Awhile back I wrote about the benefits of Writing Drunk. If you're too busy or too lazy to review the post, it is about the inability to focus under the influence of alcohol, which prohibits individuals from comprehending the complexity of brain teasers; therefore resulting in some very creative answers.

While under the influence of alcohol, people (especially writers) are more inclined to be creative and think outside of the box. In fact, studies show subjects who volunteered for an analytical analysis scored higher when they hovered around the legal limit.

As far as writing is concerned, a little rum n' coke alongside the keyboard (be careful, you might spill your drink) could potentially lead to more creative, inside-out writing. However, how does writing drunk affect you in the long run? You probably just finished sploshing bourbon in a slutty Halloween costume, so maybe this is a topic worth a glance.

A recent Atlantic article reveals some of the "shocking" facts discovered during this study.

As it stands, a single glass of red wine or a smidgen or rum will not kill you. In fact, and especially with wine, a wee-bit of alcohol is good for your health.

Moderate drinking also leads to creativity. HOWEVER, binge drinking is a little different.

If you're wondering what "moderate drinking" means, most researchers consider .08 BAC and lower to be moderate drinking. In the study, which spiked a set of lab rats' liquid supply with ethanol, revealed moderate levels of alcohol did not impair or harm the rats' motor skills or short-term learning abilities.

Binge drinking or regular moderate drinking, on the other hand, can be quite detrimental to your health. With constant exposure to alcohol, the hippocampus (part of the limbic system) was weakened and the rats' brains were unable to create new brain cells beyond 60%.

What this should teach us is, that, while it's OK to sip the bottle while working on a paper or writing your next masterpiece, it's important to limit yourself and watch how much and how often you drink. Go ahead an get shit-faced every once in awhile, but be careful and don't do it too often.

I felt the need to follow up the original Writing Drunk article with this new post, since I might've condoned drinking accidentally. Unfortunately, for those of you who can't remember your Halloween party . . . well here's hoping you didn't burn too many brain cells. You might not get them back.

(If you get a chance: Check out the story "Sleep" from No-Injury Policy to see how drinking benefits and harms and benefits one writer's life.)