We have long known how precious the arms of Morpheus are. But a new study on sleep carried out in 2024 confirms once again that sleeping is one of the best activities to engage in. If good sleep allows us to stock up on energy, it also helps us make more rational and informed decisions, preventing us from being tempted by a first impression that is sometimes misleading.
An article in The Conversation describes the experience of researchers at Duke University (North Carolina, United States), who asked participants to take part in a garage sale. After searching through several boxes containing various objects, some of which were valuable, participants had to choose only one in order to earn its cash value. Participants who slept before the decision-making were not influenced by the valuables, but rather by the whole box: won.
When we are stuck on a problem, sleep will be beneficial for our brain, because it will give it clues to solve it. This is what a study carried out in 2019 by a team from Northwestern University (Chicago, United States) shows. In this experiment, participants had to solve a series of puzzles, each associated with a sound. After collecting the results, the researchers played the sounds related to the unsolved puzzles while the participants slept. The next morning, surprise: the success rate was higher for the puzzles whose sounds had been broadcast during the night. They would have allowed the brain, although asleep, to work on their resolution.
Naps, that’s the only thing true
Another (historical) example of the benefits of sleep on our thoughts and our creativity: the great inventor of the light bulb, Thomas Edison, often took naps to stimulate…
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