Jun 26, 2025 10:27 PM
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1087599
INTRO: “Sleeping on it,” especially dropping deeper than a doze, might help people gain insight into certain kinds of tasks, according to a study published June 26th in the open-access journal PLOS Biology by Anika Löwe, Marit Petzka, Maria Tzegka and Nicolas Schuck from the Universität Hamburg, Germany, and colleagues.
Humans sometimes find that they have a sudden “eureka” moment on a problem they’ve been working on, producing sudden insight or breakthroughs. Scientists have yet to have their own “aha” moment of insight on how it might work, though sleep appears to play a role.
To better understand how sleep might lead to insight while problem-solving, the authors of this pre-registered study asked 90 people to track a series of dots across a screen. The participants were given instructions about a seemingly simple task that merely involved responding to the dots on a keyboard, but the instructions left out a trick that could make the task easier. After four sets of trials, the subjects were put down for a 20-minute nap, hooked up to an electroencephalogram (EEG) to track their sleep.
After their nap, the subjects were tested again, and 70.6 percent of participants had their “aha” moment, figuring out the unmentioned trick that made the task easier. All groups improved after their rest period, but 85.7 percent of those who achieved the first deeper sleep phase—called N2 sleep—had their breakthrough.
In contrast, 55.5 percent of those who stayed awake and 63.6 of those who dropped into light, N1 sleep experienced a moment of insight. Studies of the EEG patterns showed that a steeper spectral slope, associated with deeper sleep, was also associated with an “aha” moment.
While the study did not compare people who rested or napped to those who didn’t get a break, a previous study by the authors that used the same task (but did not give participants a chance to nap) found 49.6% experienced “aha” moments. Thus, the authors suggest that a nap with deeper, N2 sleep might help someone who needs a moment of insight... (MORE - details, no ads)
INTRO: “Sleeping on it,” especially dropping deeper than a doze, might help people gain insight into certain kinds of tasks, according to a study published June 26th in the open-access journal PLOS Biology by Anika Löwe, Marit Petzka, Maria Tzegka and Nicolas Schuck from the Universität Hamburg, Germany, and colleagues.
Humans sometimes find that they have a sudden “eureka” moment on a problem they’ve been working on, producing sudden insight or breakthroughs. Scientists have yet to have their own “aha” moment of insight on how it might work, though sleep appears to play a role.
To better understand how sleep might lead to insight while problem-solving, the authors of this pre-registered study asked 90 people to track a series of dots across a screen. The participants were given instructions about a seemingly simple task that merely involved responding to the dots on a keyboard, but the instructions left out a trick that could make the task easier. After four sets of trials, the subjects were put down for a 20-minute nap, hooked up to an electroencephalogram (EEG) to track their sleep.
After their nap, the subjects were tested again, and 70.6 percent of participants had their “aha” moment, figuring out the unmentioned trick that made the task easier. All groups improved after their rest period, but 85.7 percent of those who achieved the first deeper sleep phase—called N2 sleep—had their breakthrough.
In contrast, 55.5 percent of those who stayed awake and 63.6 of those who dropped into light, N1 sleep experienced a moment of insight. Studies of the EEG patterns showed that a steeper spectral slope, associated with deeper sleep, was also associated with an “aha” moment.
While the study did not compare people who rested or napped to those who didn’t get a break, a previous study by the authors that used the same task (but did not give participants a chance to nap) found 49.6% experienced “aha” moments. Thus, the authors suggest that a nap with deeper, N2 sleep might help someone who needs a moment of insight... (MORE - details, no ads)