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sing sound cues, scientists have made study participants
solve puzzles in their sleep.
New research sheds light on the cognitive processes that occur in the brain as we sleep.
In dreams, fragments of reality,
imagination, and memory intermingle in timeline-agnostic narratives that make
little sense upon waking.
It seems to have something to do
with memory reshuffling, and, indeed, studying before sleep is said to be a
good way to retain information.
When people choose to "sleep
on" a difficult decision, it is because they know that there is a chance
that they will wake up with a clearer view of the problem.
Now, for
the first time, researchers have been able to trigger problem-solving sleep.
A summary of their findings appears
in the October issue of Psychological Science.
The researchers' hypothesis
"We know that people rehearse
or 'consolidate' memories during sleep, strengthening and reorganizing
them," says first author of the study Kristin Sanders, of the department
of psychology at Northwestern University, in Evanston, IL.
The hypothesis investigated in
Sanders' study began with a recognition that solving a difficult problem — and
creative thinking in general — can be a function of constructing new
combinations of known elements in search of a previously undiscovered
arrangement that reveals a solution.
Sanders and colleagues wondered if
there could be a problem-solving strategy similar to the reorganization of
memory during sleep.
To test their suspicion, the
researchers needed a way to direct sleepers' brains toward specific problems
without waking them.
Fortunately, says Sanders, previous
research has shown that "this natural process can be boosted by playing
sounds associated with the information being rehearsed."
"Problem-solving is part of
everyone's daily life. While we use tricky puzzles in our study, the underlying
cognitive processes could relate to solving any problem on which someone is
stuck or blocked by an incorrect approach."
Kristin
Sanders
The study's experiments
The researchers sought to learn
whether 57 participants could solve puzzles as they slept. So, the team
presented the participants with an assortment of brainteasers in the evening
before bed.
Each puzzle was accompanied by, and
thus associated with, a unique sound. Participants went to sleep, with some of
their puzzles remaining unsolved.
As each participant slept, the
researchers played the sounds for half of the person's unsolved puzzles a level
loud enough to be heard without causing an interruption in sleep.
The idea was to call those puzzles
to the attention of the sleeping mind for further exploration.
In the
morning, having "slept on" their remaining brainteasers, the
refreshed participants were able to work through more of them. They were able
to solve 31.7% of the puzzles invoked by sounds during sleep — a 55%
improvement over the 20.5% of uncued puzzles that they could solve.
The study demonstrates for the first
time that sleep can be manipulated to direct its unique talent for
problem-solving toward the finding of solutions that prove elusive while awake.
The researchers' technique may apply
to any problem about which a person has all the necessary information without
being able to arrive at a solution.
Senior author of the study Prof.
Mark Beeman says, "For example, no matter how much sleep I get, I'm not
going to suddenly figure out black holes or find a cure for a rare disease
because I don't have the necessary background knowledge."
Nonetheless, he says, "This
study provides yet more evidence that brain processing during sleep is helpful
to daytime cognition."
Sanders and colleagues conclude in their paper:
Sanders and colleagues conclude in their paper:
"Overall, these results
demonstrate that cueing puzzle information during sleep can facilitate solving,
thus supporting sleep's role in problem incubation and establishing a new
technique to advance understanding of problem-solving and sleep cognition.
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