Creativity and Sleep

Creativity

The forming of associative combinations which either meet specified requirements or are in some way useful.

Cognitive flexibility

Finding remote associations

Creativity Model #1

1. Confront problem intensely, without success.2. Put the problem aside.3. Enter dormancy, putting no conscious work

on the problem (incubation).4. Get the aha—an insight flash to

consciousness while in idle thought.

Creativity Model #2

1. Preparation2. Incubation

3. Illumination4. Implementation

Graham Wallas 1926

Paul McCartneyYesterday

Robert Louis StevensonStrange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Albert Einsteinmultiple discoveries

Otto Loewisynaptic connections

Mary ShelleyFrankenstein

Does sleep aide creativity?

And is REM sleep the key player in creativity?

REM Refresher

1. Rapid, random side-to-side eye movements2. occurs in ~90-120 minute cycles at night3. up to 20-25% of total sleep time in adults4. proportion decreases with age

(a newborn may spend 80% of sleep in REM). 5. Dominates the latter half of the sleep period,

especially the hours before waking 6. REM typically increases each sleep cycle in the night 7. Atonia

REM Refresher

1. REM sleep: bizarre and hallucinatory compared to thought-like NREM

2. Paradoxical sleep

REM Refresher

areas involved with LT memory and emotion are highly active in REM

REM Neurotransmitters

• Norepinephrine is inhibitory in locus coeruleous of the pons atonia

• Acetylcholine is active during REM• Serotonin inhibits REM

Study #1

Study #1

1. Measure creative problem solving after REM sleep through the Remote Associates Test (RAT).

• 77 people, aged 18-35 • No personal reported history of illness• Sleep at least 6 hrs/night for the 5 days up to the

experiment• Sleep at least 6.5 hours before test day• Kept sleep diaries; wore actigraphs 5-7 days before testing• No alcohol or caffeine 24 hrs before and during experiment

Remote Associates Test (RAT)

1. Falling2. Actor3. Dust

?

Remote Associates Test (RAT)

1. Falling2. Actor3. Dust

STAR

Remote Associates Test (RAT)

1. Home2. Sea3. Bed

?

Remote Associates Test (RAT)

1. Home2. Sea3. Bed

SICK

FAST:SLOW as HARD:E

zzz ZZZ♪♬♭♫

REM improved PM primed performance—almost 40%--over the other two groups

Study #2

Study #2

700ms fixation point

200ms prime

Indefinite ms target

ID word/nonwordkeypress

Semantic priming can test associate memory processes.

Study #2

Contrary to the overall patterns, subjects awakened from REM showed greater priming by weak primes than strong primes (p=0.01)

Factors contributing to creativity and sleep

1. REM, not incubation, improves creativity by priming associative networks

2. Creativity benefits from prior exposure

3. Sleep selectively enhances memory expected to be of future relevance

Discussion

1. REM is important for creative thinking, particularly for highly difficult problems with a visual solution or that challenge the prior paradigm of thinking.

2. Sleep insomnia may prime the brain for divergent thinking, because of its fatigue, thereby letting thoughts that would have otherwise been controlled by areas like the dlPFC to get through.

Questions

1. Is creativity best measured through words and vocabulary?

2. Can other senses, such as olfactory and auditory ability, be tested and used for creativity tasks?

3. Creativity across age spans: does creative performance persist in the same way by age group?

In closing

Let us learn to dream.--Nobel Laureate Friedrich A. Kekulé

In closing

Let us dream to learn. --April Gardner