Abstract
Previous research has shown that performance on problem
solving improves over a period of sleep, as compared with wakefulness. However,
these studies have not determined whether sleep is beneficial for problem
solving or whether sleep merely mitigates against interference due to an
interruption to solution attempts. Sleep-dependent improvements have been
described in terms of spreading activation, which raises the prediction that an
effect of sleep should be greater for problems requiring a broader solution
search. We presented participants with a set of remote-associate tasks that
varied in difficulty as a function of the strength of the stimuli–answer
associations. After a period of sleep, wake, or no delay, participants
reattempted previously unsolved problems. The sleep group solved a greater
number of difficult problems than did the other groups, but no difference was
found for easy problems. We conclude that sleep facilitates problem solving,
most likely via spreading activation, but this has its primary effect for
harder problems.
journal reference (abstract & fulltext preview):
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