Exploring Productivity, Creativity, and Neuroscience in Relation to Time of Day

The brain's neurotransmitters like dopamine, adrenaline, and cortisol are highest in the first nine hours after waking, making it optimal for linear tasks such as math and organization. As the day progresses into the ten to seventeen-hour mark, serotonin levels increase, enhancing non-linear and creative thinking, beneficial for tasks like brainstorming and creative endeavors. This late-night creativity is linked to a slightly sedated state, favoring the spontaneous organization of ideas and new ways of thinking, a state where solutions come more naturally without forcing them. This phenomenon explains why some creative individuals turn to substances like alcohol or cannabis to access this liminal state of creativity, as seen in famous writers, musicians, and comics.