HEALTH DAILY NEWS

If you’re struggling to be creative at work, taking a nap can help.

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Falling asleep briefly can ignite a creative spark, one study suggests, by helping the brain connect to retrieve different thoughts from memory.

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Researchers recruited 49 people and got half to think about a tree — to mimic a topic at work they were supposed to have ideas about — while the other half focused on their thoughts.

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Half of the people stayed awake doing either task, while the other half took a nap before waking up one to five minutes later.

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People in the study took an average of five naps, over 45 minutes, to tap into sleep’s creative “sweet spot” — the first few minutes after they fell asleep.

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The study volunteers were then asked to write a story about a tree, which was judged for creativity based on originality, variety and number of ideas.

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After a nap, people were significantly more creative than when they stayed awake.

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When people were given three minutes to think of possible uses for a tree, and then asked to list verbs for tree-related words like leaf or branch, people were more creative after sleeping.

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People got even more creative when they were instructed to think of a tree between naps.

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The study, published in the journal Scientific Reports, follows evidence that people are more creative at solving a math problem after a nap.

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Thomas Edison, who perfected the electric light bulb, and the great surrealist artist Salvador Dali are said to have used naps to make them more creative.

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Kathleen Esfahany, who led the new Massachusetts Institute of Technology study, said: ‘People who signed up were very good at napping, and they came to the lab after lunch, when they were more likely to fall asleep.

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“People were much more creative after a nap, which shows the sweet spot of the first stage of sleep for generating unusual ideas.”

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The study used a glove to monitor when people fell asleep based on biological changes, including falling heart rate and relaxing muscles.

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They were randomly woken up one to five minutes later because this is the length of the first stage of sleep, which evidence shows is best for creativity.

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Half of the people who took a nap were instructed by a computer to think about a tree before each nap, while half were told to observe their thoughts.

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The same two different orders were given to people who stayed awake.

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People who took a nap showed, on average, more creativity in their story and in the “semantic distance” of the words they chose when naming trees or verbs for tree-related nouns.

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Semantic distance is a good measure of creativity because it shows whether people have used words with different meanings.

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For example, people in the study who said a tree could be used as a giant’s toothpick or as a witch’s broom were more creative than those who said it could be used for a tree house.

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When the researchers analyzed all three tasks, participants who took a nap and were told what to dream about performed 43 percent more creatively than participants who took a nap without being told what to dream about, and 78 percent more creative than those who stayed awake with no instruction on what to do. dream about.

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Tips to fall asleep and sleep better

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Due to insomnia, you regularly have trouble sleeping. It can get better by changing your sleeping habits

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One in three adults in the UK and nearly half of US adults suffer from insomnia, with millions more reporting sleepless nights.

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Prolonged sleep deprivation can lead to obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

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Insomnia can be caused by stress, anxiety, alcohol, caffeine or nicotine, noise, shift work and jet lag.

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If you regularly have trouble sleeping, there are simple ways to improve your sleep hygiene.

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Keep regular sleeping hours

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• Try to go to bed when you feel tired and get up at the same time every day.

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Create a restful space

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• Dark, quiet and cool environments generally make it easier to fall asleep and stay asleep.

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Get moving

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• Exercise is good for your physical health and your mind. It can also help you sleep better. Just don’t do vigorous exercise too close to your bedtime.

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Don’t force it

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• If you find you can’t get to sleep, get up and do something relaxing. Then go back to bed when you feel more sleepy.

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Write down your concerns

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• If you find that your worries are keeping you awake at night, try writing them down before you go to bed.

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Lighten up the caffeine

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• Alcohol and caffeine can prevent you from falling asleep and sleeping deeply. Cutting back on caffeine just before bed and alcoholic drinks can help you taper off.

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Source GGZ

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