The Nightly Secret to Solving Puzzles: How Dreams Can Shape Ideas and Boost Cognitive Abilities

Ever been told to 'sleep on it'? A new study reveals how sound cues during REM sleep can guide your dreams to solve complex problems and boost creativity. Discover the science behind it.

Many people have been told to "sleep on it" when trying to find a solution to a problem. A new study from Northwestern University suggests that this advice might actually have a scientific basis. Although many people say creative ideas often come to them in dreams, it has been hard for scientists to study this in a controlled setting because dreams are unpredictable and difficult to manage. 

The research was published in the journal Neuroscience of Consciousness.

Guiding Dreams with Sound

The researchers discovered that it is possible to influence what people dream about using a method known as targeted memory reactivation (TMR). During sleep, sounds related to puzzles that participants had tried earlier were played once brain activity showed they were in REM sleep, the phase of sleep linked to vivid dreaming.

About three-quarters of the participants reported dreaming about parts of these puzzles. Puzzles that appeared in their dreams were more likely to be solved, with participants completing 42% of dream-related puzzles compared to 17% of those that didn’t appear in dreams. However, this does not prove that dreaming directly improves problem-solving, but it does show that shaping dream content can enhance creative thinking.

The REM Sleep Experiment

The study involved 20 participants who were experienced in lucid dreaming, meaning they sometimes became aware they were dreaming while asleep. In the lab, they worked on a series of challenging puzzles, each with a unique soundtrack. Most puzzles were not solved. Throughout the night, scientists used brain monitoring to play the soundtracks from half of the unsolved puzzles when participants were in REM sleep.

Some participants used agreed-upon signals, like specific sniffing patterns, to show they were aware of the sounds and working on puzzles in their dreams. The next day, participants shared their dreams. Many included images or ideas linked to the puzzles they had been exposed to, and those participants were more likely to solve those puzzles after waking, with their success rate doubling from 20% to 40%.

Dreams Influence Creativity

Even participants who were not lucid reported that the sounds affected their dreams. Some dreamed of related imagery, like forests or jungles, which reflected the puzzles they had been exposed to. These findings suggest that dreams can be influenced by external cues and may play a role in problem-solving, creativity, and learning.

Future Applications

The researchers hope to explore other ways that guided dreaming could be beneficial, such as helping with emotional regulation and enhancing broader learning. By understanding how dreams affect thought processes, scientists aim to show that sleep and dreaming can be powerful tools for creativity, mental health, and overall well-being.