Unable to solve that tricky math problem? A ‘light’ nap might help!

A night of restful sleep can rejuvenate your entire body but even a short burst of sleep can refresh your mind.

A new study’s findings claim that spending just 15 seconds between sleep and full wakefulness can boost creative thinking. Sleep researchers have found a ‘creative sweet spot’ where just 15 seconds spent in the first stage of sleep lead to triple the progress in creative problem-solving.

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The stage called ‘hypnagogia’ or ‘N1’ is when the most vivid dreams occur but remains a less studied part of the sleep cycle. To analyse its impact, 103 volunteers were put to the creativity test.

Participants were asked to solve a tricky numeric problem and they were allowed to take a 20-minute rest where they could close their eyes. Of the 38 who fell asleep, the ones who stayed in hypnagogia were three times as likely to discover the hidden solution compared to those who had stayed awake and about six times as likely compared to participants who reached a deeper stage of sleep.

Publishing in Science Advances, the team said further research is needed to fully understand the link between N1 sleep and creativity.

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