Sleep on It

Have you ever encountered a problem that you've had difficulty solving? Maybe schoolwork, PC programming, home repair or a task from work? All day long you can't figure out how you're going to solve it. That night you lie awake in bed mulling over different possibilities to no avail. However, the next morning, perhaps in the shower or during your commute, it comes to you. Aha! Why didn't I think of that before? Well, research shows that while sleeping the brain continues to work and perhaps since its not being used to find something to wear, maneuver your car or reminisce about some cutie you saw at the gym, it gets busy with the task at hand; resolving that issue.

I've done it. Thought of how to solve a complicated home repair issue the next day or the next. Perhaps you have too. One study I read gave subjects a difficult task at hand. Hours later the same subjects were quizzed about their appropriate resolutions and very few had a logical solution. However, those same subjects, when given a night's sleep before quizzing had much better solutions to the problem. Interesting.

Therefore, when given a complicated task or confronted with a personal dilemma, its not illogical to say "let me sleep on it". You might be pleased with the result.

So, in an hour, when my boss gives me some complicated task to handle, instead of sitting there staring at the wall and drumming my pencil for 40 minutes, I'm going to say "You betcha! Right after a nice nap!"

Hmmmm.......there must be a cot in here somewhere.