Napping like Thomas Edison can boost your creativity

Durch wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen fand man heraus, wie das Einnicken im Gehirn das Denken anregen kann und die Kreativität fördert. In diesem Auszug aus der aktuellen Ausgabe der Read On erfahren Sie mehr über den Boost durch das Wegdämmern, den auch Thomas Edison sich zunutze machte.

SCIENCE | AMERICAN HISTORY

A study shows that the napping technique the inventor used can help you see problems with fresh eyes to find new answers.

By Franziska Lange

1 Scientists from the Paris Brain Institute have found that a short sleep can boost creativity. The secret lies in a phase of sleep called N1 or hypnagogia, a phase between consciousness and deep sleep that lasts just a few minutes.

2 This means that, to make a nap effective, you have to wake up just as you start to doze off. Holding an object in your hand helps: as soon as you doze off, the object falls to the floor, waking you up at just the right moment.

3 The scientists tested this technique on 103 people. The participants had to solve several math problems by finding a hidden rule. There were 16 participants who found the rule immediately. The others who didn’t were told to take a 20-minute nap. While they were resting, they held a paper cup in their hands. Scientists monitored their brain waves.

4 After the nap, 83 per cent of those who had got to N1 found the hidden rule. Only 31 per cent of those who had stayed awake and 14 per cent of those who had fallen into a deep sleep did. (…)

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Vocabulary

0 – 2 to nap ein Nickerchen halten — inventor Erfinder(in) — scientist Wissenschaftler(in) — boost fördern, ankurbeln — secret Geheimnis — hypnagogia Hypnagogie — consciousness Bewusstsein — to last dauern — to doze off langsam einschlafen
3 – 4 participant Teilnehmer(in) — to solve lösen — hidden versteckt — rule Regel — to rest sich ausruhen — to monitor überwachen — awake wach

| Foto: Pixabay