Do you ever find yourself staring at a blank page, feeling as though your mind has hit a roadblock and creative juices have come to a screeching halt? The solution is simple and largely intriguing–a power nap.
A new study, conducted by researchers at The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard Medical School, and published in the journal Scientific Reports, found that a short nap can help you overcome any constraint and jumpstart creativity.
Furthermore, the researchers noted dreaming about a given topic can significantly enhance one’s creative abilities related to that particular subject, Science Blog reported.
So how do the dream mechanisms work?
The MIT media lab, using their Dormio device, peered into the dream of the study participants. Through this process, individuals were prompted to focus their dreams on specific topics or subjects. The results revealed a remarkable finding–those who received targeted dream incubation demonstrated a heightened ability to generate more creative stories as compared to those who went off to sleep without any prompt.
In a collaborative study conducted by Robert Stickgold from Harvard Medical School and Pattie Maes from MIT’s Media Lab, a fascinating exploration into the inner workings of the brain and the potential influence on cognitive states was undertaken with the objective to gain valuable insights into how individuals can actively shape their cognitive processes.
The Dormino device in focus is worn as a glove and is designed to prompt individuals to intentionally focus their dreams on specific topics during the onset of sleep.
“When you are prompted to dream about a topic during sleep onset–which is drifting between sleep and wakefulness, you can have dream experiences that you can later use for these creative tasks,” Kathleen Esfahany, one of the study’s lead authors and an MIT senior, said in a media release.
The researchers said that when individuals’ thoughts are guided during the initial stages of sleep, the brain is stimulated to form broader associations, ultimately resulting in heightened creativity. The authors of the study aspire to equip individuals with additional tools that enable them to tap into the potential of their own minds.
Moreover, they aim to explore further applications of dream incubation, particularly in areas such as the treatment of nightmares.
The 10 most common nightmares, from seeing zombies to being cheated on, and what they can reveal about your life. Photo courtesy of Pexels, Public Domain