Short read: Should we Sleep on a Problem?

Apparently, when we say ‘sleep on a problem’, it is not just meant figuratively. As the author of this blog says,  before he goes to bed, he goes through a tricky problem he is trying to solve and lets his subconscious mind have a crack at the solution whilst he is asleep. Turns out, he is not alone with this habit:

“Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn, is reportedly a fan of the ‘give the mind an overnight task’ approach. Then there’s Otto Loewi, who won the 1938 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, and attributes his winning experiment to an idea that came to him while sleeping. Thomas Edison slept little at night, and instead kept beds around his workplace so he could power-nap then return to work invigorated. As one account put it, ‘he awakes in immediate and full possession of his faculties, arising from the cot and going directly “back to the job” without a moment’s hesitation’.”

Whilst these are credible anecdotes, what does science have to say about this:

“Biologically, there is some sense behind the idea: when we go to sleep, the brain goes through a process of triage, sorting all the information and memories we’ve accrued during the day. The potential for making creative associations appears to be greatest during the period of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, where dreams are common. REM sleep is noisier that other types of consciousness, with random activation of neural pathways. (Writers like Tim Harford have similarly noted the potential for chaos to spark creativity when we’re awake.) Going to bed with mental jigsaw pieces could therefore be making use of this routine REM creative sorting, to produce a clearer picture by morning.

One 2013 study got some university students to sleep on problems, and others to remain awake. Based on the differences between groups, they concluded that sleep can facilitate problem solving, but only if the problems were relatively difficult. Another study suggested that using sounds associated with different problems could allow targeted ‘reactivation’ of specific problems while sleeping.”

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