Creative Problem Solving Enhanced By REM Sleep

The story goes that in the 1790s, Samuel Coleridge fell asleep one evening at his desk, and when he woke he had the poem “Kubla Khan” in his head. More recently, Paul McCartney went to sleep and dreamed the tune to his hit song, “Yesterday.” What is it about dreaming that spurs creativity? Some researchers from the University of California at San Diego are looking for clues.