Problem-Solving

[ysabetwordsmith]

New study backs up 'sleeping on it,' suggesting naps promote creative problem-solving

All groups improved in the dot-sorting test after their nap, but 85.7% of those who achieved the first deeper sleep phase — called N2 sleep — had the breakthrough.

Comments

A detail

[dialecticdreamer]

N1 sleep is the lightest phase, what most people call napping. It lasts less than ten minutes.

N2 sleep is what I've known as delta-wave sleep. It lasts 30-60 minutes. The combination of N1 and N2 is what is conventionally evoked in a twenty minute "power nap."

N3 sleep is the deepest phase of non-REM sleep, lasting 20-40 minutes. Waking someone from this phase is VERY difficult. Ironically, THIS is the phase where night terrors occur, and the difficulty waking someone is definitely part of the problem.

REM sleep is when dreaming happens. It can take anywhere from an hour to two hours to even GET to REM sleep, so the popular advice for "90 minute sleep cycles' is BUNK.

Re: A detail

[ysabetwordsmith]

It always sounds weird to me how normal people sleep. I pass through the dream level on the way down. I like it, and I know where it is, so I can just go there.

Re: A detail

[dialecticdreamer]

Every time I look into current science, I have exponentially more questions, with no new answers.

Re: A detail

[ysabetwordsmith]

I'm fascinated by the new answers, when they touch on things I don't actually know already. Science Daily is good for that.

Re: A detail

[dialecticdreamer]

Oh, there's a gazillion things that I don't know, but in too many areas (like string theory), the official line is that "the theory is the only one that makes sense, BUT--" and they haven't made progress in two decades. Ditto for other areas that I follow closely.

I mean, reclassifying Brontosaurus as Apatosaurus was a PITA, reclassifying Pluto as not-a-planet makes scientific sense and flies in the face of popular perceptions OF science, so there's an enormous drawback to world-changing scientific developments. I'd just like to be able to see /progress/ in fields that most interest me. Even if I'm currently holding erroneous information as "fact" in my head.

[thewayne]

Years back, before I became a librarian, I went to a database server disaster planning/recovery seminar. And one of the first things taught was quite interesting. The first thing to do when confronted with a horrible server crash is:

Go get a cup of coffee.

Just walk away.

If you jump right into it and start trying to fix things, you'll probably make things worse. You need to think about the overall situation and how you need to gather diagnostics and look at things to assemble the big picture before you begin to figure out what happened so you can fix it.

Of course the worst part is having your boss calling every five minutes wanting to know when it'll be fixed.

Problem solving

[dialecticdreamer]

Humans are a problem-solving species, at our best. We're definitely a problem-HAVING species, so learning to dismantle a problem into chunks that someone can manage is a life skill second only to breathing.

I've got other tools to help me deal with mental challenges, but taking naps during daylight hours is pretty much never going to happen. (I think I took two daytime naps in the entire run of chemotherapy and radiation.) However, settling in a dim room with eyes closed and consciously relaxing the body, muscle by muscle, gets me well into N1 mimicry. I want to set a timer and TRY it for longer than usual, to see if I can tolerate the inactivity for a full twenty minutes.

If so, it's another viable tool for the toolbox.

Re: Problem solving

[thewayne]

In the library that I work in, we converted one of our study rooms into a quiet room: bean bag chair, dim lighting, large screen TV on a YouTube channel playing soft nature sounds.  Users are absolutely encouraged to put out the In Use sign and take a nap or just chill.

Re: Problem solving

[ysabetwordsmith]

That it so awesome. We need more of that in this world. <3 a little slice of Terramagne.

Re: Problem solving

[dialecticdreamer]

I like your library already! Excellent multi-use space! Some patrons might bring in a book, some might take a nap, and then I'd be right there with my current yarn project!

Re: Problem solving

[thewayne]

We also have two "talk boxes".  One-person study booths with slide doors for privacy.  Our director, who is quite young, has done a lot to modernize stuff.

Re: Problem solving

[ysabetwordsmith]

I've seen an increase in pod-type amenities that are useful for studying, talking on the phone, or in the larger ones a two-person meeting.

Re: Problem solving

[dialecticdreamer]

All four of the local library branches that I've checked out have talk boxes, but they are rarely in use, and so quiet inside that I actually prefer to sit in a general area to hear other people rustling pages or toddlers hopping from one square of carpet to another.

They could be so much more useful, and more incorporated into general library uses, but the fact that they exist at ALL is better than I had in my hometown in California.

Re: Problem solving

[ysabetwordsmith]

It would be nice to have something like the Diogenes Club. A quiet place to hang out, with spaces for occupying without interacting and other for quiet interactions or conversations with a friend or two.

Re: Problem solving

[dialecticdreamer]

In California, the local library had turned into a knockoff Starbucks. People chatting, playing games on their phones or laptops (with no headphones), et cetera. For someone with ADD, it was WORSE than the local Barnes & Ignoble, even during the winter holidays when the main mall played "music" so loudly the speakers buzzed. And it conflicted heavily with the more reasonable volume of music chosen by the bookstore staff, which was also holiday-themed but wildly different in styles.

Here, the library culture took.... Hmm... Call it a step back and two steps to the left. Here, there are talk rooms, the computer users are encouraged to either use one of the talk rooms or buy a pair of headphones for five bucks, and I have to readjust my voice volume back to real "library voice". (This is particularly annoying to me now that I'm dealing with midrange hearing loss in ANY amount.) Yet, instead of feeling like it's the 1990s, the library has embraced digital literacy, non-book resources, and a surprisingly inclusive culture. I've gotten 'sir' by mistake a few times, but there's been no sense of /bias/ when I correct the mistake. I have no worries that if I let the implied pronouns stand, I'd get exactly the same customer service from the librarians.

So, in all, I'd call the local branches a good stand-in for the Diogenes Club, EVEN when there's a preschool class in the community room in danger of contaminating the hallway (and beyond) with glitter glue and scraps of pastel tissue paper.

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> Years back, before I became a librarian, I went to a database server disaster planning/recovery seminar. And one of the first things taught was quite interesting. The first thing to do when confronted with a horrible server crash is:

Go get a cup of coffee.<<

That's Buddhist advice, more commonly phrased as: "Don't just do something, sit there." It means exactly the same: take the time to act mindfully, not reflexively.

Another massively useful emergency skill is to provide a nonanxious presence. If you stay calm, it is no only easier to solve the problem, it minimizes the tendency of other people to panic and flail.

>>If you jump right into it and start trying to fix things, you'll probably make things worse. You need to think about the overall situation and how you need to gather diagnostics and look at things to assemble the big picture before you begin to figure out what happened so you can fix it.<<

Sooth. It helps to have a checklist so you don't have to think of all the steps in a crisis. Did it lose power somewhere? Is there a hardware failure? Did a virus or hacker get in? And so on.

>> Of course the worst part is having your boss calling every five minutes wanting to know when it'll be fixed. <<

Start with an estimate of assessment time, then add 50-100% buffer, and tell your boss the amended span for assessing the problem. After that, you should be able to report on what went wrong and hopefully estimate how long it will take to fix (again, pad the estimate).

Further calls can be answered with, "Sir or Ma'am, while I am speaking to you I cannot simultaneously be working on the server crash. It will be (original time - elapsed time) until (type of update) will be available." That's the logical version. For bosses who don't grasp logic, look for a team members who is good at patting feelings and assign them to handle queries.

[cattasalla]

For sure, napping is great. I was so frustrated a few years ago, right before I was made remote. I worked in an office, and I took naps at my desk. Anyone knowledgeable about how to be productive will tell you the importance of rest and how much an afternoon nap can help. But I got in trouble for it because of "optics." It did not make sense to me. It was better for everyone when I was switched to remote...

Yes ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

Efficient workflow requires that you understand your own mind and body, what works best for you or not. Most people don't realize that, and do poorly, and cause others to do poorly.

I work at home, for myself, as a professional wordsmith precisely so I can do all the maintenance things that most other people find intolerable. And I get things done.