In a laboratory in Hamburg, in Germanya simple and common object has become the central instrument of a fascinating discovery: a very light plastic glass, placed in the palm of the hand of a sleeping person. At the time of the fall – caused by muscle relaxation typical of the phase n2 of sleep – Something extraordinary happens: the mind opens up to sudden intuitions.
A team of neuroscientists of theUniversity of Hamburg He has shown that he briefly reach sleep phase, the one that is placed between light and deep sleep, significantly increases the probability of experiencing an “Eureka moment”. It is that sudden light clarity that allows you to solve complex problems or see previously hidden connections.
Like a simple test with points clouds, it revealed the link between N2 sleep and intuition
In their study, the researchers involved 90 participants, subjecting them to a cognitive task apparently trivial: classifying clouds of moving points, colored orange or purple, pressing one of the two available keys. However, without the volunteers being aware of it, the color of the points was actually a crucial clue to predict the correct direction.
After numerous tests, the participants were offered the opportunity to make a 20 -minute nap, during which their brain activity was monitored via EEG. Upon awakening, they resumed the same task. And it is precisely here that the most surprising figure emerged: Over 70% of those who had reached phase N2 during sleep managed to guess the hidden ruledrastically improving their performance. On the contrary, only 55.5% of those who had remained awake and 63.6% of those who had limited themselves to phase N1 (more superficial) reached the same goal.
The same experiment, previously repeated without any interval to sleep, had shown that less than half of the participants (49.5%) discovered the rule.
To better understand what happens in the brain during these illuminating pies, the researchers focused on a parameter of the EEG called spectral slope. This indicator represents the way in which brain activity varies between the different frequencies, and can be compared to the “softness” of a melody.
According to the collected data, one steep slope It is associated with a greater probability of creative intuition. The researchers speculate that, during phase N2, the brain operates a sort of “Internal simplification” Similar to the regularization process used in machine learning: it deletes unnecessary connections, reduces noise and leaves room for hidden patterns and innovative solutions.
In other words, the brain – lightened – manages to see more clearly.
Salvador Dalí and sleep with the key
It is not the first time that sleep power is associated with creativity. Paul McCartney said he dreamed of the melody of “Yesterday”; Otto Loewi, Nobel Prize winner, had the intuition for his experiment as he slept. But Salvador Dalí is offering the most iconic example: the “sleep with the key”.
Dalí sat with a spoon in his fingers, ready to fall on a plate positioned under his hand. As soon as he slipped into his sleep, the spoon fell, he woke up suddenly and he noted what he had displayed. His goal was precisely that limited state between vigil and sleep – the hypnagogical phase, identified today with the N1.
However, the researchers from Hamburg have discovered that pushing themselves a little further in phase N2 could be even more effective. Dalí, while not knowing it, he had sensed a profound truth: in letting go of control, unexpected gates open in the mind.
Strategic Pisolini
According to the researchers, the results obtained by the study published on Plos Biology They are not surprising those who work with creativity:
Many of my colleagues – especially artists – found themselves in the results of the study. They lived similar experiences: intuitions born after a simple nap.
Painters blocked in front of a white canvas, programmers waged in a bug, confused students in front of a complex problem or journalists in creative crisis: Everyone could benefit from a targeted nap.
Of course, the researchers admit that the nap group was not compared directly with a control group completely without rest, so the cause-effect must be interpreted with caution. However, the set of experiments suggests a clear scheme: sleep can free the mind.
The next step will be captured in real time the exact instant in which intuition is born, observing the changes in the spectral slope during the “Eureka” moment.
In a world that pushes us to insist and work without respite, the message of this study goes against the current :. Sometimes, what is needed is to stop, close your eyes and rely on the silence of the mind.