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An Empirical Investigation of the Sleepless Artist Cultural Trope: Sleep Problems, Sensory Sensitivities, and the Associative Basis of the Creative Process

An interest in what makes some individuals more creative than others developed through the course of my work in the performing arts sector over fifteen years. The investigation of creativity within academia can often provoke a raised eyebrow, yet it has many practical applications, as the generation of creative ideas drives innovation and the production of knowledge. Stories of highly creative people often characterise them as individuals who work late into the night and struggle to sleep. These sleep problems (i.e., delayed sleep phase, sleep onset insomnia, and the resulting sleep deprivation) are often reported alongside sensory sensitivities (e.g., heightened awareness of background noise). There are substantial theoretical grounds to suggest that sleep problems and sensory sensitivities are linked to associative thinking via the shared mechanism of hyperarousal. Cortical hyperarousal may lead to the bubbling up of seemingly contextually inappropriate associative memories, which benefits creativity by allowing new and unusual associations to form between the distantly related memories that reach conscious awareness. Yet no empirical studies have examined the relationships among these phenomena and their relation to creative achievements. My PhD project addressed this gap through an online study with a sample that included highly creative individuals (i.e., maximum Creative Achievement Questionnaire scores above 350 in the music, humour, and theatre and film domains). Results of predictive associations among the constructs will soon be available through both conference presentations and publications. These results carry significant weight for future research examining creativity as a potential strength to identify and emphasise within neurodiversity-affirming educational and therapeutic contexts to enhance learning and well-being. By focusing on creativity as a strength associated with core traits of Autism and ADHD, this approach seeks to reorient psychological research priorities from cure narratives toward enhancing the quality of life and flourishing of Autistic and ADHD individuals and their communities. Through this lens, creativity becomes both a subject of inquiry and a vehicle for reimagining what rigorous, inclusive, and humane psychological research can be. Follow me on ResearchGate to get access to my publications as soon as they become available.
2026 IAEA Congress: Jena, Germany
I just returned to Melbourne from Europe, where I presented some of the main findings from my PhD project at the International Association of Empirical Aesthetics congress in Jena, Germany. It was a wonderful yet intense conference, with four days filled with world-class talks and symposia. For the first time in my brief research career, I was surrounded by like-minded researchers, academics, and artists, most of whom actually understood my work, and it was so exciting to share ideas. Following the final day of the conference, some of us were lucky enough to tour the Bauhaus Museum in Weimar and the picturesque surrounding gardens. I then spent a few days in Amsterdam on holiday with an old and dear friend from Melbourne, filled with more art and impressive architecture. If you'd like to view the art and architecture highlights from my trip, particularly the Bauhaus Museum in Weimar, the Bauhaus University, and some extraordinary sound and light artworks at Nxt gallery in Amsterdam, check out my Instagram feed here.
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2026 Neurodiversity Affirming Therapy Conference Australia
Wow! Things are really getting busy this year. I'm excited to announce that I'll be presenting some of the main findings from my PhD project at the 2026 Neurodiversity Affirming Therapy Conference Australia in my hometown, Melbourne. The lineup can be viewed by clicking here.
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Future Follows Past – Creating a Gesamtkunstwerk together for Arts and Aesthetics Research 2026
I'm excited to announce that I'll be presenting some of the main findings from my PhD project at the International Association for Empirical Aesthetics conference in Jena, Germany, this year! Such a wonderful opportunity. The preliminary program can be viewed by clicking here.
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Six things we get wrong about sleep: And how to actually get better rest, according to experts
Our systematic literature review is really getting a lot of attention! This time, New York Times reporter Katie Mogg referenced our systematic literature review in her article about the importance of sleep for a range of life outcomes, which you can read here.
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From Woolf to Einstein: Exploring the Connection Between Sleep and Creativity
I'm excited to share that the playwright and ArtsHub feature writer, David Burton, referenced our systematic literature review in his article about sleep and creativity, which you can read here.
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The Effect of Sleep Deprivation on Creative Cognition: A Systematic Review of Experiment-Based Research
I'm excited to share that my first first-author journal article has been published! In April 2024, the article became available online. It is open access and can be viewed by anyone by clicking here.
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Feeling creative? A mixed methods exploration of creative individuals' preferred time of day for creative practice.
Part of my PhD research was presented at the International Society for the Study of Individual Differences conference in July 2023. Click here to request the poster.
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The effect of sleep deprivation on creative cognition: A systematic literature review.
I presented the initial results of our systematic literature review at the 7th annual meeting of the Society for the Neuroscience of Creativity in May 2022.
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