The National Sleep Foundation has recently posted an article on the connection between sleep and creativity. Speed Sleep is designed to provide an added benefit of increased creative problem solving abilities. The research supports the impact at the REM sleep levels that are achieved by using Speed Sleep. Here is some info from their findings:

Whenever you’re facing a problem or tough decision, you might get the following advice from a friend: “Sleep on it.” According to new findings published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, that might not be a bad idea. Researchers from the University of California San Diego have found that Rapid Eye Movement (REM) or “active” sleep may assist the brain in forming connections between unrelated ideas, a method of creative problem solving. Participants in the study were shown three words and asked to find a fourth that could be associated with the other words. They were tested in the morning and also in the afternoon after a nap — some groups with and some without REM sleep. Researchers found that the REM sleep group’s performance improved by almost 40 percent compared with their morning testing. Study author Sara Mednick said in a statement, “We found that — for creative problems that you’ve already been
working on — the passage of time is enough to find solutions; however, for new problems, only REM sleep enhances creativity.”

Authored by Hui-Ling Lai, PhD., RN, and Marion Good, PH.D. FAAN of Case Western Reserve University’s Francis Payne Boulton School of Nursing were published as “Music Improves Sleep Quality in Older Adults” (Journal of Advanced Nursing, 49 (3), February 2005, p.234-244). The study found that soothing music-specifically music with a tempo of 60-80 beats per minute (BPM)-resulted in significantly better sleep quality, better perceived sleep quality, longer sleep duration, greater sleep efficiency, and more.

Food is also related to sleep by appetite and metabolism. Research by Dr. Van Cauter shows that people who don’t get enough sleep are more likely to have bigger appetites due to the fact that their leptin levels (leptin is an appetite regulating hormone) fall, promoting appetite increase. This link between appetite and sleep provides further evidence that sleep and obesity are linked. To top it off, the psychological manifestations of fatigue, sleep and hunger are similar. Thus, when you’re feeling sleepy you might feel like you need to head for the fridge instead of bed.