Edison's secret powernap technique boosts creativity

In 10 seconds? Famous thinkers and creatives such as Thomas Edison and Salvador Dali have historically recommended straddling the cusp of sleep and wakefulness to inspire creativity – and now, sleep research supports their technique.

What does the research say? In a 2021 study, researchers used a light sleep technique described by Thomas Edison and Salvador Dali and showed that people who stayed in a very light stage of sleep were more successful at creatively solving a problem than those who stayed awake or slipped into a deeper stage of sleep.