Dream On: Sleep Boosts Creative Problem-Solving

Neuroscientists have conducted a study to investigate if dreams can foster creativity and insight. Researchers presented volunteers with challenging brainteasers and encouraged them to dream about unsolved problems while sleeping in a lab.

During REM sleep, sound cues associated with half the puzzles were played to prompt dream content. The study found that participants who dreamed of the puzzles were twice as likely to solve them upon waking.

This provides preliminary evidence that REM sleep dreams can causally promote creative problem-solving. Researchers theorize that REM sleep alters the mind's associative networks, allowing for more remote connections and 'fixation forgetting.'

While acknowledging the study's small sample size, experts suggest sleep may be the most powerful tool for boosting creativity. Future research aims to further understand sleep's specific contributions to novel idea generation.