For many years, the idea that “sleeping on it” would provide an individual with some time in which their subconscious mind would work through a problem or problems has generally been accepted as common sense. This does not mean that the scientific basis for the idea is unknown or unsupported by research. Recent findings provide experimental evidence that dreaming during REM sleep may serve as an aid for creative problem-solving in the subsequent hours or days following dreaming. Using a method known as targeted memory reactivation, this study tested whether dreaming caused participants’ increased ability to solve puzzles, or whether dreaming simply reflected previously processed and tangible memories in the brain. The study was conducted by a team of neuroscientists at Northwestern’s Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, led by Karen Konkoly, the lead author on the paper, along with Ken Paller, James Padilla Professor of Psychology and Director of the Cognitive Neuroscience Program at Northwestern. Experimental timeline. (A) Overview of experimental timeline for most participants. (B) Each in-lab session had an identical procedure, except …