Sleep and Creativity

When do you get your best ideas? When you're up tight, faced with a deadline and under a lot of pressure? A poll conducted by the East of England Development Agency revealed that most creativity, most new ideas, come to workers, not in the workplace, but in a more relaxing environment.

By Kelly Williams   Talk to the Author.

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Sleep and Creativity

Dreaming Your Way to Creativity

We're all familiar with the groggy, can't think feeling that accompanies sleep deprivation. It's impossible to even keep your mind functioning let alone think up anything new or creative. It's also true that, to learn something new and make it stick, it's best to sleep on it. That's why all-night cramming for exams isn't a good idea.

Now the findings of the East of England Development Agency have taken this one step further. From a poll they circulated, they discovered that most creativity, most new ideas, come to workers, not in the workplace, but in a more relaxing environment.

I'm a freelance writer, and I get many ideas for articles and stories after I lay down at night, or even sitting relaxed in a quiet room, just letting my mind drift.

Psychology Professor Richard Wiseman of the Perrott-Warrick Research Unit at the University of Hertfordshire, England, says, "These new results reveal how our minds are often most creative when we relax and take time from everyday pressure."

The proof of this is in the reading - not of this article, but some of the works of well-known authors. Robert Louis Stevenson dreamed the plot of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Jack Kerouac wrote his Book Of Dreams based on this own dream world. Artists have created paintings in their dreams. Musicians have heard the scores of operas and the strains of classical masterpieces while asleep.

Professor Wiseman goes on to explain, "In our dreams we produce unusual combinations of ideas that can seem surreal, but every once in a while result in an amazingly creative solution to an important problem."

He suggests that British businesses start taking a more relaxed approach to creativity if they want to get the most from their employees.

Installing beds in the workplace might be one solution, but it's not the only one. Flowers and plants can help create a more relaxed decor. Rearranging the furniture, having food and drinks available, soft music all could help employees to relax and be more creative.

Another way to create a relaxed atmosphere is with the use of Feng Shui.

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