Study Finds 'Creative Hangover' Among Professionals

Creativity boosts well-being in the moment but can drain emotions the next day, especially for those who create for a living.

Published on Feb. 24, 2026

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A new study published in The Journal of Positive Psychology has identified a surprising pattern among professional creatives: After days with higher creative engagement, creative practitioners reported more negative emotions the following day, even though creativity improved their well-being in the moment. The authors call this next-day dip a "creative hangover."

Why it matters

The findings complicate the familiar "tortured artist" narrative, showing that creativity offers immediate well-being benefits across the board, but the timing and emotional spillover may depend on whether someone creates professionally or more casually. This could inform wellness strategies, clinical approaches, and future intervention studies.

The details

The study tracked 355 adults, including 202 creative practitioners and 153 comparison participants with lower creative engagement, across baseline measures and 13 daily surveys of creativity and multidimensional well-being. It found that while creativity helped everyone feel better the same day, creative practitioners started out with higher well-being but reported more negative emotions the next day after higher creativity - the "creative hangover." In contrast, casual creators tended to carry the benefits into the next day.

  • The study was published on February 23, 2026.

The players

Kaile Smith

Lead author and a doctoral candidate in Psychology at the CUNY Graduate Center.

Jennifer Drake

Professor of Psychology at the CUNY Graduate Center and Brooklyn College, and the study's senior author.

The CUNY Graduate Center

A leader in public graduate education devoted to enhancing the public good through pioneering research, serious learning, and reasoned debate.

Brooklyn College

An anchor institution within the borough of Brooklyn and greater New York City for more than 90 years, known for its rigorous academics, award-winning faculty, distinguished alumni, and community impact.

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What they’re saying

“Creativity is usually framed as a straightforward path to feeling better. What surprised us is that for creative practitioners, there can be a next-day emotional cost — even when the same-day effects are positive. That doesn't mean creativity is harmful; it suggests the emotional rhythm of creative work may be different when creating is central to your life and livelihood.”

— Kaile Smith, Lead author and a doctoral candidate in Psychology at the CUNY Graduate Center (The Journal of Positive Psychology)

“Creative professionals are often under intense pressure — to perform, to produce, and to evaluate their own work. This study shows why blanket claims like 'creativity is always good for you' miss important nuance. Creativity tends to lift well-being in the moment for everyone, but the day-after pattern can diverge in ways that matter for mental health support and creative-arts interventions.”

— Jennifer Drake, Professor of Psychology at the CUNY Graduate Center and Brooklyn College, and the study's senior author (The Journal of Positive Psychology)

The takeaway

This study highlights the complex emotional dynamics of creative work, showing that while creativity boosts well-being in the moment, it can also lead to a 'creative hangover' the next day, especially for those who create professionally. This nuanced understanding could inform more effective wellness strategies and interventions to support the mental health of creative practitioners.