It may be no coincidence that some of the greatest literary names had a love for alcohol — think Hemingway, Poe, and Faulkner — drinking may have given their creativity a boost and helped them plow through mental blocks that stifled their productivity. According to a study from Austria's University of Graz, alcohol relaxes areas in the brain and allows thoughts to be more creative.

Amounts as small as a glass of wine or beer will do the trick say researchers.

Researchers gave people either beer or a non-alcoholic beer that tasted the same. They were then given tasks, such as a word association test determining what word linked Swiss, blue, and cake. Those who drank alcohol were much more likely to get the correct answer — cheese. Those who drank alcohol were also more likely to do better on a creative thinking problem, deciding a tire was used more creatively as a lampshade than as a swing.

"We wanted to do this study because alcohol is so linked with creativity, and great writers like Ernest Hemingway," lead author Dr. Mathias Benedek told Daily Mail. "Previous research has found almost half of the great writers had a history of drinking.

"We found that a small drink can indeed help with certain aspects of creativity, although it may make hard, focused work more difficult.

"So, it might well work for someone who is sitting down to do creative writing or brainstorming ideas in a boardroom," Benedek concluded.

There are a couple of theories explaining why alcohol helps with creativity. One is it may give your mind the freedom to explore alternate ways of solving a problem. The other is that alcohol allows you to access your unconscious mind to find alternative solutions, Benedek said.

The study was published in the journal Consciousness and Cognition.

Other studies have also found a link between creativity and alcohol, such as a study at the University of Illinois which found that drinkers who were brainstorming ideas outperformed non-drinkers 4 to 1 when given creative tasks.

How does alcohol unleash creativity? It could be its ability to help drinkers relax. Researcher Mark Beeman from Northwestern University found that thinking too hard blocked the creative process, but when volunteers were relaxed, they were more likely to have a "Eureka" moment.