#ThinkfullyHabit: Sleep on it
It can often feel like we’re chasing the clock, constantly rushing to meet never ending deadlines. However, it can be incredibly helpful to not just momentarily step away and come back to a challenge, but to go away and actually 'sleep on it'.
Encourage yourself and others to take time to mull things over and let your thoughts settle before returning to the issue the next day – especially if they’re complex problems.
WHY?
Sleep helps us make sense of new ideas and connections. It helps us integrate information and tidy up and make sense of all the connections and ideas that come about during our wakeful hours.
In recent years, scientists have discovered that the old adage "sleep on it" actually has merit, and have found evidence that sleep can stimulate what we call Click Thinking which is those times when our brains make new connections unconsciously and often present as ‘ah-ha!’ moments.
“Our ability to come up with novel solutions to complex problems is hugely enhanced by a night of sleep. It’s been estimated to give us a three-fold advantage...In the brain those connections that are important are linked and strengthened, while those less important tend to fade away.”
Psychologist Ullrich Wagner and his colleagues discovered that sleep has a dramatic impact on the ability to gain insight into a problem. They conducted a study where they gave people a mathematical puzzle, which contained a hidden shortcut to get to the answer (which they didn’t divulge). Some groups were allowed to get a good night’s sleep while others remained awake before tackling the puzzle. When they returned to the problem 8 hours later, those who slept had close to a 60% success rate in getting insight to the shortcut, compared to 23% for the groups who had stayed awake.
So next time you’re grappling with an issue, try sleeping on it!