People need creativity in their lives or work, especially those involved in artistic creations, but sometimes they may lack inspiration and struggle to come up with good ideas. In this regard, experts suggest that taking a short nap can help stimulate creativity, so why not give it a try.
In an article on Psychology Today website, Anthony D. Fredericks, an honorary professor in the Education Department at York College in the United States, mentioned that research has shown that taking naps regularly can help enhance creativity.
A study conducted by the Paris Brain Institute in France indicated that most people experience a brief period of insight and creativity when they first fall asleep. This is a stage known as N1 non-rapid eye movement sleep, which is a hazy period experienced before entering deep sleep. People often generate novel or innovative ideas during this stage.
In this study, researchers provided a series of math problems to 103 participants who felt frustrated as they couldn’t solve them. The researchers then allowed them to rest for 20 minutes and encouraged them to take a short nap.
After the rest, these participants continued to attempt solving the problems. The results showed that the likelihood of those who napped solving the math problems was nearly three times higher compared to those who did not nap. The conclusion drawn by the researchers was that most people experience a “creative window” before entering deep sleep.
Although there isn’t sufficient empirical evidence to prove a direct correlation between N1 sleep and creativity, some experts have theorized a direct connection between the onset of sleep and innovative thinking. The unconventional sleep habits of American scientist and inventor Thomas Edison are often cited as an example. He frequently scheduled short naps during the day.
As for how to apply the nap method in real life, Fredericks suggested that before napping, you could spend a few minutes writing down the problems or challenges you are facing on a piece of paper and leave it with a writing tool on your bedside table or next to your couch.
Next, set your alarm for 10 to 15 minutes and lay down to sleep. Remind yourself that you are just taking a rest, not entering a deep sleep in what is known as the N2 state.
When the alarm goes off, quickly get up, pick up the paper and pen, move to another room, and jot down any ideas that come to your mind. You may come up with a couple of solutions or unrelated thoughts to the current problem. It’s okay. You can save these ideas for later review.
It’s important to remember that, just like world-class marathon runners practice regularly, this is a process you must practice regularly. You may not come up with something innovative in the first few naps, but you can train your brain to focus on generating new ideas in subsequent naps.
If there isn’t time for a short nap during the day, what should you do? Fredericks mentioned that some researchers suggest meditation and mindfulness as excellent alternative methods.
Steve Taylor, a senior lecturer in psychology at Leeds Beckett University in the UK, also shared methods to easily achieve creativity on the Psychology Today website.
Taylor wrote that ideas from many artists and scientists often emerge suddenly and unexpectedly. If we’re lucky, creativity is spontaneous and effortless, good ideas just pop into our minds involuntarily.
For instance, when musicians or poets are about to sleep, drive, or take out the trash, they may not have the intention to write songs or poems at that moment, but an idea suddenly appears, allowing them to create works.
Taylor stated that although spontaneous creativity is somewhat mysterious, it is undoubtedly related to relaxation. It often occurs during daydreaming, meditation, or before falling asleep. In fact, this state is one of the richest sources of creative inspiration, where many great discoveries and inventions have emerged.
For example, Danish physicist Nils Bohr dreamt of the atomic nucleus and electrons revolving around it as he gradually fell asleep, similar to our solar system with the sun and planets. This led him to “discover” the structure of the atom and subsequently win the Nobel Prize in Physics.
Taylor explained that relaxation means our consciousness is less active, and there is less associative thinking. Our self-boundaries become softer, allowing thoughts to seep through from deeper subconscious levels. Relaxation seems to make our thoughts more lucid and more easily inspired by insights.
Therefore, relaxation is a strategy to enhance creativity. Don’t try too hard. If you attempt to force creativity, the result is likely to be frustrating. But if you can cultivate a relaxed state of alertness and patiently wait, ideas have a greater chance of emerging.
Meditation is an ideal way to achieve this goal. Taking The Beatles from the UK as an example, they went to India in 1968 for meditation retreats and returned home with around 30 new songs a few weeks later, most of which were included in the “White Album” released that year.
In conclusion, although spontaneous creativity occurs randomly, relaxation and meditation may make it easier for you to discover it.