Although the exact process is not clear, it seems that the biochemical process of the brain restructures memories before storing them during the night. This restructuring most likely allows our minds to see problems in new ways and so bring new solutions to them. (Ref: http://www.cnn.com/2004/HEALTH/01/21/sleep.creativity.ap/index.html)
As stated in the article – sleeping on a problem is not exactly new, though this gives me a clue as to why i often describe my “most creative” period as being in the shower each morning.
The article also touches another interesting creativity-issue – the space or beeing-space. Getting out and about, changing the setting in which you think is a powerful but yet overlooked tool in today’s company culture. (No IKEA been bags is not enough – an article about where your ideas come from in Danish)
about the shower – I recently found a good explanation on that. when you’re waking up you go from a brain pulsefrequency of 5-6 to a pulse frequency of 21. alpha frequency is at 7 and is happening when you daydream or you’re waking up from a good nights sleep
Yep, I can recommend a book called “Stress” (in danish) – lend it to someone, so i can’t give you an ISBN…
I started practicing meditation because of that – it’s impressive what impact it can have on your brainwaves