In the blog post on Friday, we discussed how Maya Angelou works to keep her little mind busy so her big mind can be present.
Another time the small mind, or portion of the brain that deals with executive function, is preoccupied is when we sleep. Instead of stewing over problems and not falling asleep, you might try assigning yourself a problem to work on overnight.
This article from Harvard Health Publishing dives deeper into what is happening in our brains during sleep and how we can leverage that time to solve our tough problems.
My Story
This concept is second nature to me because of an experience with a homework assignment in grade school.
I was spending a weeknight at my grandmother’s house and the assignment was to create a poem where the first, second-, and fourth-lines rhyme.
The project was NOT going well and by bedtime I was in hysterical tears. My brain was stuck and a bad grade was looming about in my mind. As my grandma worked to calm me down, she explained that our mind works on problems at night and in the morning the answers are there. She assured me that I would have a poem when I woke up in the morning. And I did!!
From that moment, I “knew” that my sleeping mind would solve the tough challenges my daytime mind couldn’t handle. I’ve used the technique for all kinds of problems. The most frequent has been work strategies and presentations. When something just isn’t connecting, a little sleep prompts my brain to figure it out.
The childhood moment was so impactful, I still remember the poem and the inspirational landscape:
I went on a trip out west.
I liked the mountains the best.
One looked like an Indian,
Laying down to rest.
The photo in this post is of that mountain as seen from Castle Rock, Colorado where my aunt and uncle lived. I remember taking it way back when. I looked up the mountain on Wikipedia and it’s been called a number of names over the years including Sleeping Indian, Camel’s Back, Devils Head, and Platte Mountain.
I sometimes wonder what life wouldn’t have been like without this young childhood experience. Would I have learned to process complex problems overnight or would they have kept me up instead?
Your Turn
Do you use your sleeping mind to work on challenges?
If so, does it help you fall asleep with less stress?
If you don’t use this technique, I encourage you to give it a try!