When Are We Most Creative? Morning, Night, or… Never Midday?
“Creativity has rhythms”
Recently, I asked a group of creative professionals when they feel most creative. Every single answer fell into two camps: morning or night. No one said “the middle of the day.” That struck me—why are our creative peaks clustered at the edges of the day, when conventionally we’re told to “do our best work” during typical business hours?
As it turns out, science has some fascinating things to say about this.
The Night Owl, the Early Bird, and the Counselor’s Clock
Research on chronotype—your natural tendency to be an early morning person or an evening person—shows that creativity often peaks when our internal clocks are aligned with the time of day we’re working.
Morning-types generate more creative ideas earlier in the day.
Evening-types perform better creatively at night.
When we’re forced to work out of sync with our chronotype—say, a night owl counseling clients at 8 a.m.—creativity is harder to access (Kühnel, Bledow, & Kiefer, 2022).
Could this mean that part of counseling creatively—responding flexibly in-session, thinking of new metaphors for clients, adapting interventions—depends not only on how we’re trained, but when in the day we practice?
The Sleep-Onset Sweet Spot
Another intriguing piece of research suggests that the moments right before sleep (what’s called the hypnagogic state) are a fertile ground for creative insight (Lacaux et al., 2021). In this state, our cognitive control loosens just enough to let the brain make unusual connections.
Artists, inventors, and problem-solvers may stumble on their best ideas not in the middle of a work sprint, but as they drift off.
And we might ask: What could it look like for counselors to lean into these liminal spaces? Could we reflect on client cases in gentle, less structured moments- walking, resting, even drifting toward sleep- rather than pushing for answers in the heat of the day?
Boredom: Barrier or Hidden Gateway?
But it is not only sleepiness that sparks creativity. Boredom enters the picture, too. A systematic review found that boredom can sometimes stimulate creativity, especially when people are underchallenged—the mind starts looking elsewhere for stimulation, often producing novel ideas (Zeißig et al., 2024).
On the other hand, boredom paired with feeling overchallenged leads to disengagement and a drop in creativity (Krannich et al., 2025).
So perhaps when our clients complain of boredom, or when we feel restless in our work, we can ask: Is this a space where creativity could emerge, or a space where overwhelm has shut it down?
Inspiration, Timing, and Designing Creative Work
Research on design practices also suggests that the timing of inspiration matters—creativity often arises from external stimulation, but its effectiveness depends on when it arrives relative to our mental state (Hou, 2023). The right spark at the wrong time falls flat; a small spark at the right time can ignite an entire project.
For counselors, that should give us pause: Are we attending to when we bring creativity into sessions? Do we notice if clients are “morning thinkers” or “evening reflectors”? Might the timing of interventions affect their resonance?
What This Might Mean for Counselors
Taken together, these studies suggest a few practical reflections:
Creativity has rhythms. It may peak for our clients (and ourselves) early, late, or near sleep—not necessarily in the middle of the day.
Chronotype matters. Counselors and clients may both think and create best at their preferred times of day. Can scheduling reflect that?
Boredom is nuanced. It can be a catalyst or a barrier. Helping clients make sense of their boredom may uncover creative potential.
Self vs. others. There’s an open question: are we considering creativity as self-expression for ourselves as counselors, or as a tool we adapt and facilitate for others?
Questions for Reflection
When in your daily rhythm do you feel most able to think creatively—for yourself or for your clients?
In session, how might a client’s chronotype or time-of-day preference shape their problem-solving or openness to new insights?
How do you know when boredom is fertile ground for creativity versus when it’s a sign of overload?
What might it look like to use creativity differently for self-care and for the sake of others?
References
Hou, G. (2023). The impact of design creativity: Inspirations and timing of stimulation. Telematics and Informatics Reports, 12, 100105. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.teler.2023.100105
Krannich, M., Calik, B., Goetz, T., Ullrich, A. L., & Lipnevich, A. (2025). Investigating the relationship between boredom and creativity: The role of academic challenge. Education Sciences, 15(3), 330. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15030330
Kühnel, J., Bledow, R., & Kiefer, M. (2022). There is a time to be creative: The alignment between chronotype and time of day. Academy of Management Journal, 65(1), 218–247. https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/lkcsb_research/6694
Lacaux, C., Andrillon, T., Bastoul, C., Idir, Y., Fonteix-Galet, A., Arnulf, I., & Oudiette, D. (2021). Sleep onset is a creative sweet spot. Science Advances, 7(50). https://www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1126/sciadv.abj5866
Zeißig, A., Kansok‐Dusche, J., Fischer, S. M., Moeller, J., & Bilz, L. (2024). The association between boredom and creativity in educational contexts: A scoping review on research approaches and empirical findings. Review of Education, 12(1). https://doi.org/10.1002/rev3.3470