Your brain can crack complex mental puzzles while sleeping!

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Lifer
Jan 7, 2002
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Sleep 'can increase brain power'


Scientists say that they have shown how the brain can crack complex mental puzzles while its owner is sleeping.
Research at Luebeck university, in Germany, says tests on 106 volunteers back up anecdotal evidence that a good night's sleep can help solve problems.

The volunteers were shown a number puzzle in which was embedded a "hidden code" revealing the answer, the journal Nature reports.

Those kept awake overnight reportedly had far less chance of solving it.

The scientists believe that because the brain appears to restructure information from the previous day during sleep hours, a period of sleep may produce insight into problems such as these.

'Restructuring'

Other experts say it is the first hard evidence that creativity and problem-solving may be assisted by the activity of the brain during sleep.

Dr Jan Born, who led the study, said: "This restructuring might be occurring in such a way that the problem is easier to solve."

He highlighted a period of sleep called slow-wave sleep - a deep sleep not thought to be punctuated by dreams.

Even small reductions in this sleep phase have been linked by other studies to a decrease in memory function, and in decreasing ability to recognise "hidden structures".

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gittyup

Diamond Member
Nov 7, 2000
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I wish my brain would start cracking the puzzle that will make me a multi-millionaire.
 

Chaotic42

Lifer
Jun 15, 2001
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I'm living proof that messed up sleep can make you stupid! :D

I read a book that said that Stephen Hawking came up with a brilliant theory about black hole thermodynamics while he was laying in bed.
 

79Blazer

Golden Member
Nov 12, 2003
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And one day we will have distributed computing to use our "wasted" brain power while sleeping.

 

Chaotic42

Lifer
Jun 15, 2001
33,929
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Originally posted by: fermium
And one day we will have distributed computing to use our "wasted" brain power while sleeping.
I cracked one of those DC codes. It was:

"This is a ploy by the power companies. All of your money is belong to us! Long live the power hungry computer!"
 

79Blazer

Golden Member
Nov 12, 2003
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Originally posted by: Chaotic42
Originally posted by: fermium
And one day we will have distributed computing to use our "wasted" brain power while sleeping.
I cracked one of those DC codes. It was:

"This is a ploy by the power companies. All of your money is belong to us! Long live the power hungry computer!"

LOL :beer:
 

PatboyX

Diamond Member
Aug 10, 2001
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i dont really want my brain to be working too hard while i sleep. i would like it to simply be concentrating on my dreams of the apocolypse and Ladies.
 

WinkOsmosis

Banned
Sep 18, 2002
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Originally posted by: Chaotic42
I'm living proof that messed up sleep can make you stupid! :D

I read a book that said that Stephen Hawking came up with a brilliant theory about black hole thermodynamics while he was laying in bed.

Yeah I do stuff like that all the time. Then I go to sleep and forget it.
 

Ronstang

Lifer
Jul 8, 2000
12,493
18
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I've known this for many years. I have solved many a problem in my sleep. Sometimes I would simply wake up with the solution or I would wake up immediately in the middle of the night and go write it down. Hasn't anyone ever wondered where the saying "sleep on it' came from?