Sleep Secret: This is how napping increases your creativity!

Sleep Secret: This is how napping increases your creativity!

On June 27, 2025, the University of Hamburg will publish the results of a comprehensive study that examines the effect of sleep on the human brain's creative problem-solving ability. 90 test subjects took part in the research, whose brain activity was carefully analyzed during sleep. The results, which were published in the journal “PLOS Biology”, show that the N2 sleep phase in particular has a significant influence on the ability for creative insight.

The study, led by developmental psychologist Anika Löwe and Dr. Marit Petzka, studied how short naps can improve problem-solving skills. The test subjects were asked to sleep less and to avoid caffeine the night before the tests. This resulted in almost 70 percent of the test subjects falling asleep during the experiment. What was particularly interesting was the high proportion of 86 percent of participants who had an “aha moment” during the N2 sleep phase, while 69 percent of the group that only reached the sleep phase and only 56 percent of those who did not sleep had similar experiences.

Insight into the sleep phase

The N2 sleep phase, which follows the onset of sleep phase and occurs several times during the night, was found to be particularly beneficial for creative thinking processes. The study shows that different sleep stages, characterized by differences in muscle tension and brain activity, can influence creativity. These results support the hypothesis that sleep is not only for rest, but also supports memory and selectively stores and sorts information.

The subjects had to complete a test in which they had to recognize the movement and direction of dots on a screen. Before the nap, few had recognized the connection between the dots and their direction of movement. In contrast, participants who were in N2 sleep showed a significantly higher success rate after the nap. This confirms previous research that says sleep boosts memory and creativity.

Scientific relevance

Sleep experts such as Dieter Riemann emphasize the importance of the findings on sudden inspiration during sleep. They demonstrate the phenomenon that deeper sleep phases can serve as catalysts for creative thoughts. The research results from the University of Hamburg offer new insights into the function of sleep and its influence on the cognitive processes of the brain, while at the same time opening new avenues for future studies.

For further information and the complete original publication, we refer to the study by Löwe et al., which was published in “PLOS Biology” under the title “N2 sleep promotes the occurrence of ‘aha’ moments in a perceptual insight task”. This was about the specific role of the N2 sleep phase in relation to creative thinking processes and their benefits in everyday life.