Sleeping On a Problem Actually Works

Whenever I have to make a tough decision and decide to "sleep on it," I don't ACTUALLY believe it's going to help . . . I'm just putting it off until the next day.  It's procrastination, disguised as deep thought and maturity.  It's what I specialize in.

But I guess I'M the idiot here.  According to a new study out of Lancaster University in England, sleeping on a difficult problem actually DOES help you come up with a solution.  The researchers gave people some complex scenarios and asked them to come up with solutions.  (They didn't say what those complex scenarios were.)

They had some people give answers that same day, and some give answers after getting a full night of sleep. And they found the people who got sleep were able to give more creative solutions and BETTER solutions to the problems than people who tried to answer without sleeping.

The researchers say, quote, "Sleep appears to help us solve problems by accessing information that is remote to the initial problem, that may not be initially brought to mind."

So who knew, Meatloaf was totally right.  He needed to sleep on it, so he could give her an answer in the morning.  If only his lady had heard this story, he wouldn't be praying for the end of time so he could end his time with her.

Do you tend to "sleep on it" when you have a big decision to make? Or are you more impulsive and tend to just act on your instincts?

Sleepingly yours,
Behka