Strange dreams and creative things
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During my recent podstorm, the most popular episode was about napping and the importance of rest, which probably says much about our collective state-of-mind right now. You should be pleased to hear that I'll be sharing some more thoughts about sleep with you again today because while the pandemic is affecting us in many ways, one significant effect is on the way we dream.
Various studies, including from Kings College/Ipsos Mori and the University of Helsinki, have reported spikes in how vividly we’ve experienced dreams over the past twelve months, as well as increases in our nightmares.
Why?
Well, the first reason is obvious. An increase in anxiety and uncertainty while awake transfers to our unconscious. During our REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, in particular, this creates strange dreams that amalgamate Covid, social distancing and all sorts of other weirdness.
The fact that we remember them more frequently, though, is significant.
In their new book, When Brains Dream: Exploring the Science and Mystery of Sleep, Antonio Zadra and Robert Stickgold explain that a general sense of unease causes more fragmented and disrupted sleep.
“These nocturnal awakenings lead to the recall of dreams that would have otherwise been forgotten.”
The amount and quality of your sleep impacts your mood, decision-making and, significantly, your creativity.
Alongside sleep and various other issues, the absence of a daily commute and the school run has, for many, presented the opportunity/need for greater flexibility in their lives.
Annie Auerbach’s book, Flex: Reinventing Work for a Smarter, Happier Life, suggests that we not only approach our work more flexibly but listen more to our bodies, be more adaptable in how we manage our home lives and how we consider our futures.
Now, the future is inherently uncertain - we literally can’t predict what will happen, as evidenced by events over the past twelve months. As I’ve written countless times before, though, one essential characteristic of success will be creativity, particularly in the context of increased automation and the proliferation of technology in all aspects of our lives and work.
Addressing how we view education and learning, particularly from the perspective of our children’s generation, Auerbach posits that that one of the most critical questions in the future will be, ‘what does it mean to be human?” Specifically, how we think about problems and navigate our way through life will be critical, not the learning of facts.
Psychologist J.P. Guilford helped pioneer IQ testing and, in the process, noticed that, typically, more creative people scored lower on the test. Why? It wasn’t because they couldn’t solve the problems on the test. It was because they converged on a single answer, in contrast to more creative folks whose tendency to divergency led them to generate more than one solution.
Put another way, the ability to approach problem-solving in an open-ended manner allows you to consider a broader range of information and, therefore, cognitively match a wider range of ideas in pursuit of a new one.
“Cross-connection maybe the key to creativity...Smashing together two ideas which have been connected - that is a breakthrough. That is what makes creative friction and sparks something fresh”
Annie Auerbach
An increased variety of options is one of the prerequisites of creativity as David Epstein wrote about the importance of ‘range’ in his excellent book of the same name.
Range: How Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World offers overwhelming evidence that the famous ‘10,000 hours of deliberate practice rule’ is effectively bullshit. At least, when you consider it in terms of what psychologist Robin Hogarth called ‘wicked learning environments’, characterised by uncertainty and rapid change – a pretty accurate description of the world now and in the future.
Rather than specialising, we should purposefully broaden our horizons and incorporate learning about very different subject matters. Aside from granting you new perspectives on life, it lessens the likelihood of cognitive entrenchment narrowing your field of vision, which considerably reduces your ability to think obliquely and to innovate.
Back to our current predicament for a moment. Another condition that encourages creativity is positivity: not an emotion experienced by the majority of people weighed down by a seemingly never-ending lockdown.
Neurologically, a good mood is the platform we need to consider less obvious solutions to a difficult problem, which is often where the gold lies. Without digging too deep, right before we arrive at an insight-led idea, there’s heightened activity in our brain’s anterior cingulate cortex, which is the source of those ‘cross-connections’ when activated.
In short - and given the extensive research on the subject, I’m having to take a massive shortcut here! - better mood = heightened creativity.
Now, I can’t pretend that I have the answer to a permanently good mood, but let me share some of the triggers that will get your anterior cingulate cortex kicking in. They can help stimulate more divergent thinking and positively affect your mood - a virtuous circle of creativity!
A short gratitude practice of only five minutes releases dopamine and serotonin, significantly improving our mood.
Physical exercise releases dopamine and endorphins into your brain, leaving you feeling happier, more energetic and with heightened productivity.
Widening your field of knowledge gives you more angles from which to view a problem and, ultimately, generate the solution.
Aside from the stress-relieving benefits of getting outside and into nature, it also helps with ‘attention restoration’, countering the effects of mental fatigue and burnout while also fostering an open, meditative mindset.
Aside from the positive effect of sleep on aiding physical and mental recovery, Zadra and Stickhold write that for every two hours we spend awake consuming new information and forming new memories, our brains have to go ‘offline’ for an hour to process the thoughts. So at the very least, a consistent sleep routine and taking the opportunity to nap can help (which I’ll admit is easier said than done).
In the absence of a good night's sleep - or to augment it - I find it useful to offset the morning fog with my shower routine. Firstly, while the water's running hot, it presents a moment of contemplation, which has been repeatedly shown to present a wonderful opportunity for 'aha moments'. The real revelation for me, though, is ending the shower with at least thirty seconds of ice-cold water, which releases more endorphins and neurotransmitters into the blood to really get it pumping! I'm not sure my wife enjoys my long, indulgent showers so much, but that's another story.
Nothing particularly groundbreaking here, but it’s a great reminder of the benefits of looking after yourself.
One word of caution, though.
As Annie Auerbach pointed out when she joined me on the podcast this week, given the stresses and strains of life at the moment, we have to be mindful of not placing even more pressure on people to reconfigure their work and personal lives alone, which is where employers can come in - leadership modelling a flexible approach for one, but also providing support and coaching to design and optimise their schedule in a way that promotes wellbeing.
Although, admittedly, getting involved in planning your staff's shower routine could be a step too far!
Sweet dreams.
Ollie
Pilita Clark offers some insight into why a ‘hybrid’ future of work won’t just be about picking which days you choose to work in the office or at home. As she explains after speaking to economist and remote expert Nicholas Bloom, a ‘mixed mode’ of some in the office and some at home could cause a ‘discrimination crisis’.
I’ve written and spoken plenty about job crafting. It’s also been the focus of many conversations I’ve had with business leaders and managers over the past couple of months, in particular. What’s the appeal? Well, Dan Cable summarises it better than I can in this Harvard Business Review article. In case you don’t have time to read it, the summary is that it gives people autonomy and takes advantage of their unique characteristics and skills. The result is better work and an increased likelihood that they’ll stick around.
Adam Grant has a new book out, and aside from appearing on a wide range of podcasts over the past few weeks, he wrote this excellent article in the Washington Post this week.
This is a typically well researched and neat summary of the future of work after Covid from McKinsey.
Nir Eyal’s books Hooked and Indistractable are excellent, and his conversation with Shane Parrish on The Knowledge Project podcast this week was a good listen. He also offers an interesting take on why just blaming technology for our inability to concentrate is a lazy analysis of a situation. Instead, we need to take responsibility for regaining control over our own attention.
And finally, I’ve seen this image shared a lot this week, which is another indication of how many people’s perspectives have changed for the better over the past year.
