If you’ve ever found yourself drifting off mid-task, lost in a swirl of unrelated thoughts, you’re not alone. For people with ADHD—attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder—this mental detour is more than a quirk. It might be the secret sauce behind their creativity. A new study from Radboud University Medical Centre, presented at the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP) Congress in Amsterdam, has uncovered a compelling connection between ADHD and creative thinking.

A student sketches ideas during a brainstorming session, illustrating how mind-wandering can fuel innovation. The study suggests that ADHD traits may enhance creative thinking in real-world settings. (Image: New Atlas)


Researchers led by Han Fang studied 750 participants across two independent groups—one European, one British—comparing ADHD traits, mind-wandering tendencies, and creativity scores. The results? People with more pronounced ADHD symptoms, like impulsivity and inattention, also reported higher levels of mind-wandering. And those who wandered more scored higher on creativity tests.

But let’s pause here. What exactly is “mind-wandering”? It’s when your attention drifts away from the task at hand toward internal thoughts. Everyone does it, but for those with ADHD, it happens more often. The study breaks it down further: spontaneous mind-wandering is the unintentional kind—like zoning out during a meeting—while deliberate mind-wandering is when people intentionally let their thoughts roam, often to explore ideas or solve problems.

This matters because creativity isn’t just about painting or poetry. It’s about problem-solving, innovation, and seeing connections others might miss. Think of the entrepreneur who dreams up a new product while stuck in traffic, or the student who reimagines a science project during a walk. For people with ADHD, this mental flexibility could be a hidden strength in school, work, and beyond.

Han Fang believes this insight could reshape how we support neurodivergent individuals. “ADHD-tailored mindfulness-based interventions that seek to decrease spontaneous mind wandering or transform it into more deliberate forms may reduce functional impairments and enhance treatment outcomes,” he said. In other words, instead of fighting the wandering mind, we could learn to guide it—turning distraction into direction.

The implications go beyond therapy. K.P. Lesch, professor of molecular psychiatry at the University of Würzburg, called mind-wandering “one of the critical resources on which the remarkable creativity of high-functioning ADHD individuals is based.” He added, “This makes them such an incredibly valuable asset for our society and the future of our planet”.

It’s a bold statement, but one that resonates in a world increasingly hungry for innovation. As workplaces and schools begin to embrace neurodiversity, this research offers a fresh lens: what if the very traits we’ve long seen as deficits are actually creative superpowers?

The full study hasn’t been published yet, but the early findings are already sparking conversations. For now, it’s a reminder that the human brain—especially the neurodivergent one—is full of surprises. And as science continues to decode its mysteries, we may find that the path to creativity starts with letting our minds wander a little more freely.