Napping Technique Allows You to Tap Into Creative Thought
A fascinating new study examines the mysterious twilight state between wakefulness and sleep and finds that it can be harnessed for creativity and problem-solving.
Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, and Salvador Dali, among others, were all said to have used a curious napping technique to spark their creativity and inspired discoveries. Holding an object in their hands while napping, they would wake as the object fell and recall the thoughts they were having at that moment.
Inspired by these visionaries, researcher Delphine Oudiette and her colleagues at the Paris Brain Institute conducted a study to scientifically investigate this phenomenon. The researchers presented participants with mathematical problems that had a hidden rule which would allow them to be solved almost instantly.
They were then given a 20-minute break during which they were instructed to relax in a reclined position while holding a bottle. If the bottle fell, they were asked to report what they had been thinking right before they let go.
Throughout this break, subjects’ physiological activity was recorded to assess their state of wakefulness. Then, after the break, the participants were again presented with the math problems.
Findings revealed that those who had dozed off into a semi-lucid state known as hypnagogia or N1, were three times more likely to solve the hidden rule than those who had stayed awake, and six times more likely to do so than those who had slipped into deeper sleep-just a minute later.
The findings were less clear in regard to the technique of dropping objects to keep from deeper sleep, as some participants dropped the bottle after they had moved onto deeper sleep.
However, the study did convincingly show that “There is a creative sweet spot within the sleep onset period, and hitting it requires individuals balancing falling asleep easily against falling asleep too deeply.”
It’s unclear why this N1 sleep stage boosts creativity. Oudiette told live science, “It might create an ideal state where you have this loose cognition and weird associations, and the ability to catch it if you get a good idea.”
Adam Haar Horowitz of the MIT lab, sees the practical implications of the study, as he told Scientific American, “It’s the kind of study that you can go ahead and try at home yourself. Grab a metal object, lie down, focus hard, and see what kind of eureka moments you can encounter.”
Ouidette is also very excited about the potential for practical applications and hopes future research will determine if focusing on this rich twilight state might help solve real-world tasks and problems.
“We could even teach people,” she reported to Scientific American, “how to reach this creative state at will.”
So, try it for yourself, and perhaps you too will get to experience this intriguing potential for creative insight.
Ancient Practice Lets You Explore Deep States of Consciousness in Your Sleep
Roughly a third of our life is spent sleeping, or at least attempting to get some rest in order to take advantage of the other two-thirds in wakeful consciousness. Ideally, this state is rejuvenating and accompanied by pleasant dreams, allowing the body to clear out all the toxins and amyloids that build up throughout the day.
But what if you could get some of that time back, or use it more productively, while also getting the regenerative benefits of deep slumber?
Don’t worry, this isn’t some new biohacking regimen with bizarre, intermittent naps, but rather a method referred to as dream yoga. Despite its name, dream yoga isn’t an attempt to perform asanas in reverie, but instead to meditatively explore the myriad levels within our minds.
A number of enlightened, spiritual masters are said to have achieved an interminable state of consciousness during their lifetime, in which they maintained awareness while they allowed their bodies to rest at night. These gurus took advantage of every minute of life to explore their inner sanctums and spelunk the deepest caves of consciousness.
Other contemporary dream state explorers, or oneironauts as they’re sometimes called, have attempted to map out the topography of the mind based on eastern philosophy, namely John C. Lily. Lily’s psychic explorations led to his development of the sensory deprivation isolation tank, in order to cultivate a dissociative state where one could detach from the body and explore the levels of satori-samadhi.
But according to Andrew Holecek, a student of Buddhist philosophy and evangelist for dream yoga, one needn’t be an ascetic or employ an expensive float tank to delve into the depths of the mind on the nightly. Instead, a little discipline and technique can allow a dreamer to travel through cosmic consciousness while still getting a good night’s rest.
Holecek says there are up to nine nocturnal states one can enter in preparation for and during dream yoga. The first of which is called “liminal dreaming,” otherwise known as hypnagogic dreaming; a state in which one is not quite awake nor asleep, but in an in-between state before dozing off.
This state is when things become blurry, but by intentionally maintaining a modicum of awareness, one is able to become active in the dream state — a practice known as lucid dreaming.
