Tired minds, tired ideas? Exploring insomnia and creativity

•The relationship between insomnia and creativity was explored.•Past work has found inconsistent effects of sleep disturbance on creativity.•Nighttime and daytime symptoms predicted creatively differently.•Nighttime symptoms predicted higher divergent thinking and more creative behaviors.

Do tired minds have tired ideas? In two studies, we explored the role of insomnia and personality in divergent thinking, everyday creative behavior, and creative achievement. Using a well-validated measure of insomnia—the Bergen Insomnia Scale—the present work explored the differential effects of nighttime and daytime insomnia symptoms. Structural equation models found a moderate effect of a global insomnia factor on divergent thinking (β = .19). Further analysis showed time-of-day effects: nighttime sleep disturbances positively predicted divergent thinking more strongly (β = .15) than daytime disturbances (β = .03). A similar pattern emerged regarding everyday creative behavior: nighttime impairments showed a positive effect (β = .15) and daytime impairments showed a negative effect (β = −.15). Global insomnia and the time-of-day variables had small and negative effects on creative achievement. The present research highlights the importance of taking a nuanced approach to the study of insomnia and creativity.