The balls of Thomas Edison as source of creativity
Thomas Edison invented the light bulb, but also together with William Kennedy Dickson in 1888, he created the first movie projector, the kinetoscope, and one of the first electric chairs with his employee Nikola Tesla (yes that one!) and much more. Pretty impressive.
So what was his source of creativity?
The power nap.
The story goes that Edison took (at least) one nap a day while holding a ball in each hand. Below the ball was a metal pan underneath.
His reasoning was that if he fell asleep, the balls would slip from his grasp and hit the pan with a loud noise, causing him to wake up abruptly and could write down his elusive, creative thoughts he could otherwise not grasp.
I instantly recognized the method and wondered if research had been done to verify. Indeed there was: the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
They have found that during the ‘half-lucid state’, just as we fall asleep, there is a phase known as N1 – or sleep stage 1 – with non-rapid eye movement (not-REM) and that is exactly the moment of great creativity and insight.
Edison wasn’t the only one using power naps. Famous power nappers are Winston Churchill, Albert Einstein, Aristotle Leonardo da Vinci and Salvador Dali to name a few. They also used it to boost creativity and insights.
It a great way to start the rest of your day. Fresh and clear. The recipe: One cup of coffee and set the timer for 20 minutes.
Happy Powernapping!
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