#ThinkfullyHabit: Be half awake
Aristotle, Einstein and Salvador Dali all made use of the 'micro-nap'; the tiniest of moments between being awake and asleep.
Dali would sit in his armchair with a key in his hand hovering above a plate and doze off. The idea was that just before falling into deep sleep, the key would fall and loudly land on the plate and he would wake with a sudden jolt of inspiration*.
“You must resolve the problem of ‘sleeping without sleeping’.”
WHY?
This early stage of sleep, called 'hypnagogia', has been associated with parts of the brain that create imagery and sensation. Typically alpha and theta brain waves are seen separately, but uniquely in this stage of sleep they are both present and their coexistence may account for interesting experiences.
Cambridge University researcher Valdas Noreika calls the state a “natural fragmentation of consciousness” and suggests that when we enter sleep, the brain starts to dismantle the models and concepts we normally use to interpret the world which can therefore lead to 'ah-ha!' moments which are not constrained by our usual mental filters**.