“Sleeping on it” really does help people solve problems, a new study has found.

For a long time, it has been suggested that getting sleep could trigger sudden “eureka” moments of insight or understanding. Now, a team of researchers has investigated this idea.

The research revealed that 85.7% of participants who reached the first stage of deeper sleep, known as N2 sleep, experienced their “aha” moments. This was in contrast to 55.5% of those who remained awake and 63.6% of those who fell into the lighter N1 sleep stage.

In a group given the same task, but who did not get a chance to nap, only 49.6 per cent had a “breakthrough” moment.

“It’s really intriguing that a short period of sleep can help humans make connections they didn’t see before,” study co-author Nicholas Schuck said.

“The next big question is why this happens.”

Fellow co-author Anika Löwe said it was good to establish solid data around what had been a subjective, if widely known, experience.

“What really amazed me when I shared these findings with those around me – especially creative individuals – was how deeply these results resonated with them,” commented Löwe.

“Many of them could relate to our results with a personal experience of having a (creative) breakthrough after a nap.”