REM is an active and final phase of the four-stage sleep cycle characterised by increased brain activity and autonomic nervous system functions. The brainstem and hypothalamus mostly control this stage of sleep. Many theories hypothesise that REM sleep is helpful for learning and memory formation, but the purpose and benefits of REM sleep are still unknown.

Rapid eye movement (REM sleep)

Before REM sleep, the three prior stages of sleep occur progressively slow bodily function and brain activity. These stages are known as non-REM or N1, N2, and N3. However, during REM sleep, the eyes move rapidly sideways. The heart rate, respiratory rate and blood pressure increase to their values while awake. REM sleep is the longest period of the sleep cycle, lasting 70 to 120 minutes.

REM definition

During REM sleep, brain wave activity increase, as measured on an electroencephalogram (EEG).<ul><li>N1 sleep shows slowing of the normal alpha wave pattern noted during the awake state.</li><li>N2 sleep introduces K waves - long, high voltage waves - lasting up to 1 second, and sleep spindles - periods of low voltage and high-frequency spikes.</li><li>N3 sleep is characterized by delta waves, or high voltage, slow and irregular activity. </li><li>During REM sleep, sleep patterns show low voltage and fast waves, some alpha waves, and muscle twitch spikes associated with transmitted rapid eye movement. </li></ul>

REM and your brain

The most vivid dreams occur during REM sleep. These dreams are often elaborate and emotional experiences that include sadness, anger, apprehension or fear.  A person can more readily recall a dream when they awake from REM sleep. However, the purpose of dream content is not currently understood. Sigmund Freud suggested dreams were a representation of unconscious thought. Another hypothesis proposes that dreams are a random brain activity during REM sleep and not a meaningful experience.

Dreams and REM sleep

Non-REM sleep is necessary in order to survive. Mild sleep deprivation increases the risk of chronic health conditions and severe sleep deprivation can lead to hallucinations or death. However, the benefits of REM sleep remain inconclusive. Studies show no obvious adverse effects when participants were deprived of REM sleep. <ul><li>Hypothesized benefits suggest certain negative behaviours which should be unlearned are rehearsed through dreams.</li><li>REM sleep is proposed to help transfer memories from the hippocampus to the cerebral cortex.</li></ul>

Benefits of REM sleep

REM sleep is the final stage of the sleep cycle showing increased brain activity. Vivid, elaborate, and emotional dreams occur during this stage.

Stashed ideas

What Is REM Sleep? Definition and Benefits

Working hard all day doesn’t matter if it’s on the wrong tasks. The most critical factor in your productivity is what you decide to work on.The question of what to work on is under-discussed. There’s plenty of advice on getting work done: setting up good habits, creating productivity systems, project management, and planning. Yet, there’s relative silence for the crucial decision of which projects to pursue.

What to Work On

A fundamental distinction is between having too many ideas or too few.<ul><li>Having too many ideas creates the problem of prioritization. Evaluate your current activities and cull those that don’t make the cut.</li><li>Too few ideas can leave you feeling stuck. You want things to be better, but nothing pops out as worth pursuing. As a result, you put half-hearted efforts into tasks you’re not sure will work.</li></ul>The “right” quantity of ideas isn’t a given. Instead, it’s a mental threshold for what’s worth pursuing. Dialing it up forces you to focus, and dialing it down lets you explore more options.

Ruling Out, Ruling In

In practice, most ideas—even groundbreaking ones—tend to be derivative or incremental. Even ideas that look original usually start out as a permutation on something already extant. Given background and context, even the most radical suggestions look like incremental steps.This suggests that the best way to have better ideas is to expose yourself to more ideas. To the ones used by people who are accomplishing things in same the direction you’d like to go.

Coming Up With Ideas

<ul><li>A threshold for action is a crude way for filtering your projects. Advice to “do less” or “do more” misses the crux of the issue. Which efforts should you drop? Which ones should you undertake?</li><li>Having adjusted your threshold, and hopefully immersed yourself in a range of possible idea templates, now you need to cross over from a notion to a commitment.</li><li>A commitment can come from either direction. You can lower your threshold for action, generate a new idea and decide to pursue it. Or you can tighten your standards and commit to focusing on a pursuit you are already engaged in. </li></ul>

Making the Choice

Much of life boils down to figuring out a path for yourself and then getting yourself to actually walk it. We often fail to stick to our plans because we’re not confident in our chosen path. And we fail to find paths forward because we don’t try enough things to find our footing.Decision and action are always combined. The challenge is taking the next step.

Finding a Path and Walking It

Working hard doesn't matter if it's on the wrong things. Thoughts on making the hard decisions about what to focus on.

How to Decide What to Work On - Scott H Young

Customer support logs are a great place to reconnect with the purpose of your work (not to mention, they give you a gold mine of blog post ideas). 
Go to Twitter, LinkedIn, and Reddit to see what the audience is talking about. If possible, investigating branded communities or other groups is really helpful.

Talk directly to the end-user

You can also find inspiration from your team. Sometimes that means brainstorming with a colleague you don't usually talk to (diverse perspectives help a lot), but depending on your role, internal inspiration might be a bit more literal.Sometimes, if you're in a slump, you just need to pull in a fresh point-of-view.

Spotlight your team and community 

Getting out of your comfort zone can re-invigorate you—and teach you a thing or two along the way. Penny Adams, a pet photographer, found a burst of inspiration after attending a three-day workshop. Instead of losing productivity to the three days away, she was able to come back refreshed and ready to go.
If your work is starting to feel mundane, consider taking a course, attending a conference, or learning an adjacent skill. Finding a community of like-minded professionals can also expose you to new perspectives.

Invest in learning

If trying a new angle on the same topic isn't working, how about abandoning your niche altogether for a moment? Jason Bradwell, the Senior Director of Group Marketing and Communications at Deltatre, turns to fiction writing to give his ideas space and time to form.It's tempting to dive deeper into the subject matter to try and unlock the next insight, but reading something creative helps my brain relax without totally switching off. It's beyond just thinking outside the box—it's closing the box and putting it in storage.

Spend time on an entirely different topic

Focusing only on big goals (and how far away you are from them) is demoralizing. To help curb idea slumps in the future, set up a way to automate positivity. 
A simple weekly reminder in Slack for your team to share their wins helps everyone appreciate the journey.

Celebrate small wins

Sometimes you'll be sick of working on the same thing every day. That's ok! While you can't ignore the task at hand, you can lean into the lack of excitement. Feeling uninspired isn't always something you need to force yourself to fix, and in fact, boredom can be good for productivity.Anthony Garone, a technical content writer, finds that "boredom is the breeding ground for a great idea," and he creates that boredom by taking a walk (which can absolutely boost your creativity).

Let yourself be bored

I asked people what they do when they're in an inspirational slump, and it turns out everyone has thoughts—because everyone's been there. Here's what I learned.

How to get out of an inspiration slump at work

There is a branch of philosophy concerned specifically with how we justify our beliefs. The chief concern of "epistemic justification" is determining what counts as a good reason for believing something and how we come about those reasons. While there is a smorgasbord of different theories, one of the bigger is known as "coherentism."Coherentism is a view that settles for circular reasoning. It does so knowingly because the alternatives are just as bad, if not worse.

Epistemic justification

It is a great theory to call out the inconsistencies of others, but it has been criticized for allowing circular reasoning.The problem is that coherentism has been criticized on these very internalist grounds. If we can be justified in believing things based on no other authority than my own beliefs, then it allows the possibility of any outlandish beliefs.

Critics of coherentism

Epistemic justification is the area of philosophy that asks: what counts as enough to justify a belief? Coherentism is the theory that states a belief is justified insofar as it coheres or is consistent with our other beliefs. It is a great theory to call out the inconsistencies of others, but it has been criticized for allowing circular reasoning.

Your beliefs are much harder to justify than you think

The precautionary principle refers to preventing harm by not doing anything that could have negative consequences. It is best set out by using the proverb "better safe than sorry" or the medical motto, "first do no harm." The principle has strengths and weaknesses, and it is helpful to know the best way to use it and how we can apply it.

The precautionary Principle

Even if we make the slightest change within a complex system, we risk far-reaching unintended consequences. The Precautionary Principle reflects working with and within complex systems. It focuses on waiting for more complete information before risking the possibility of damage, especially if the possible impact would have a bigger negative impact. For example, invasive species can cause native species to become extinct, therefore extreme caution is advised.

Taking caution before moving forward

The Precautionary Principle prompts us to question our intuitions about the right decisions. The principle was first applied to regulations in Germany for preventing air pollution. It consists of two core components in German environmental law: <ul><li>Preventing risks: Legislators shouldn't take action if knowledge of the potential environmental damage is incomplete or uncertain.</li><li>Protecting resources: The burden of proof rests on proving lack of harm, not on proving harm. Some countries use the principle to justify bans on genetically modified food.</li></ul>

Preventing risks and protecting resources

When dealing with risks, we need to be aware of what we don't or can't know for sure. How to use the Principle:<ul><li>Competing priorities should be combined with other decision-making principles. E.g. "Explore vs exploit" means focusing on existing options before trying alternatives.</li><li>The decision to take precautionary action should be based on current science, and plans should be in place for how to update that decision if the science changes.</li></ul>

How to use the Precautionary Principle

<ul><li>When the costs of waiting are low and the safety of something is uncertain.</li><li>When preserving optionality is a priority. Ensuring we don't restrict the available resources or leave messes we can't deal with.</li><li>When the potential costs of risks are greater than the cost of preventative action.</li><li>When alternatives are available.</li></ul>

When to use the Precautionary Principle

The Precautionary Principle is not applicable:<ul><li>When the scale of a potential risk is too low for precautionary action to have a benefit.</li><li>When the tradeoffs are substantial and known. When we know that not taking action will cause more damage than taking it.</li><li>When the risks are known and priced in. That means people are aware of the risks and voluntarily decide it is worthwhile.</li><li>When only a zero-risk option would be satisfying. There is seldom a 100% safe option.</li><li>When taking risks could strengthen us. Never taking any risks is generally a worse idea than taking sensible ones.</li></ul>

When not to use the Precautionary Principle

We all face decisions every day that involve balancing risk. The Precautionary Principle is a tool that helps us determine when a particular choice is worth taking a gamble on, or when we need to sit tight and collect more information.

Problem Solving

The Precautionary Principle: Better Safe than Sorry?

People rarely assess what their ideas are worth in an accurate way, failing to see the potential of the real gems and moving forward with less-promising or safer ventures.
While brainstorming, the second or third choice of ideas which are lower priority to us, often resonate well with others. The person with the ideas is paying more attention to the less abstract ideas which are close to their ultimate goal and do not need much imagination or foresight.

We Are Going After The Wrong Ideas

The ideas that are buried deep down are often abstract, and have true potential if we work towards them. These are not the low-hanging fruit, but are brilliant and revolutionary if worked upon.
Just like concept albums that sometimes have revolutionary music but are not released in the mainstream market, second-place ideas have the potential to change the world but are not highlighted due to their ‘wildness’ or unrealistic assumptions.

Ideas: B-Sides And Rarities

Instead of rejecting ideas right away, it helps to delay the decision regarding which idea to work on, and which ones to put in the wastebasket. Have people rate your ideas and get a signal about what is worth working on.
An abstract idea, if given thought and further brainstorming, can gain legs and become exciting, something to pursue on. Thinking about ideas that might fail may seem counterintuitive, but can be the pathway towards a trillion-dollar project.

Identifying Brilliant Ideas

Research shows people rarely assess the value of their own ideas accurately – and often jettison the best ones. But there are ways to avoid this mistake.

Why we gloss over great ideas – and invest in bad ones

The best-case scenario is seldom the one that happens. It is okay to hope for the best. Some degree of optimism is necessary for trying anything new. Without it, we would not start a business or enter a new relationship. 
Even when the best-case scenario comes to pass, it rarely unfolds according to plan. Unforeseen problems may appear due to lack of information. Or our ideas may take much longer to implement.

The best-case scenario

"Hoping for the best, prepared for the worst, and unsurprised by anything in between".

We rarely achieve the ideal. The more complicated a situation, the more people it involves, the more variables and dependencies that exist, the more unlikely it will work out perfectly.
The problem is that while there are many possible outcomes for any given endeavour, we only consider the best case. While it might come to pass, you're better off preparing for the likelihood that it won't.

Why we don't achieve the best-case outcome

Knowing that the future will not work out exactly as planned, it is better to prepare for a variety of outcomes, including some of the bad ones. Then, when the worst-case scenario happens, we realize it's not all bad, and we can manage if it happens again.
It will give you peace of mind that you can handle a wide spectrum of possible challenges.

Prepare for a variety of outcomes

The Best-Case Outcomes Are Statistical Outliers

<ul>
<li> There is not secret of reading more, and the only way is to just do it. It is like eating, a non-negotiable activity of our lives.</li>
<li>Still we need to find the motivation, the justification and the time to do what we should be doing anyway.</li>
<li>The problem is compounded in the last decade as the world gets more and more distractional.</li>
</ul>

The Lost Art Of Reading

<ol>
<li>Reading is our moral duty: We read because knowledge is power. We become weak and are easily manipulated if we don’t read.</li>
<li>Reading is a way to see the future: The truth is old and preserved in most classic books, which is rehashed and repackaged into newer formats and writing styles to suit the modern generation.</li>
<li>Reading makes you learn from the past: According to stoics, it is inexcusable to not learn from the past.</li>
<li>Reading makes us an informed citizen: If you want to know what is going on in the world, read biographies, stoicism and psychology books. Go deep and find the real truth, instead of hanging on to the latest news spin.</li>
<li>Reading softens your solitude: A library is a whispering post, a place where the voices of the greats are longing to get in your head, and even if you are alone, you can listen to them and be part of the greatest conversations in the world.</li>
<li>Books are our true friends: Books are always there, not shouting or yelling at us. They quietly offer profound knowledge without asking anything in return, and they help us create imaginative worlds in our minds.</li>
</ol>

The Reasons To Read More

<ul>
<li>One is not really educated if the habit of reading is absent from their lives. </li>
<li>To not avail yourself of the treasure of knowledge is stupid. </li>
<li>To not take advice and valuable lessons and not apply them in your profession is often a costly mistake.</li>
</ul>

Reading Makes You Functionally Literate

Our problems seem special and insurmountable, but they are petty and common. Most of them are already solved in the various books around us.
Reading is a conversation with the greatest people: Books are our conversations with Shakespeare, Lincoln, Einstein, and many others we wish to speak with. They are waiting for us, even after death, to sit and have a dialogue.

Reading Solves Problem

<ul>
<li>All leaders have to be good readers, not to impress people, but to be better at their role.</li>
<li>The knowledge that makes us better is worth knowing.</li>
<li>One does not have 20 lifetimes to do trail and error with life, and needs to stand on the shoulder of giants.</li>
</ul>

All Leaders Are Readers

<ol>
<li>Read first thing in the morning: Avoid social media and pick a good book.</li>
<li>Read without haste or hurry, maybe just a page a day.</li>
<li>Have a book with you always, and read while to commute or eat.</li>
<li>Read while you relax to nourish your brain.</li>
<li>Find a repository of ideas, quotes, anecdotes or observations, or make one.</li>
<li>Read great books from the masters again and again: They change shape and colour, impacting your mind in different ways as you grow.</li>
<li>Understand that you have ample time to read. If you don’t have time, you need to read why.</li>
</ol>

Seven Ways To Read More

How to Read More: Reasons and Strategies to Read More Books - RyanHoliday.net

When you are thinking and thinking about something ask yourself: Will this matter in 5 years? Or even in 5 weeks?It allows you to stop thinking about something and to focus your time and energy on something else that actually does matter to you.

Put things into a wider perspective

<ul><li>For small decisions like if you should go and do the dishes, respond to an email or work out, give myself 30 seconds or less to make a decision.</li><li>For somewhat larger decisions that would  take you days or weeks to think through in general, use a deadline for 30 minutes or for the end of the workday.</li></ul>

Set short time-limits for decisions

<ul><li>Get a good start, that will set the tone for your day. (read or work-out and then start with the most important task of the day).</li><li>Single-task and take regular breaks. This will help you to keep a sharp focus during your day and to get what’s most important done while also allowing you to rest.</li><li>Minimize your daily input, especially from social media consumption. It will clutter your mind as the day progresses.</li></ul>

Stop setting your day up for stress 

When you know how to get started with taking action consistently each day then you’ll procrastinate less by overthinking.<ul><li>Set deadlines and a good tone for the day.</li><li>Take small steps forward and only focus on getting one small step done at a time.</li></ul>

Become a person of action

Trying to do so simply doesn’t work because no one can see all possible scenarios in advance.Trying to think things through 50 times can be a way to try to control everything. To cover every eventuality so you don't risk making a mistake, fail or looking like a fool.

You cannot control everything

Ask yourself: "What is the worst than can happen?".You will find that the worst that could realistically happen is usually something that is not as scary as what your mind running wild with vague fear could produce.

Don't get lost in vague fears

When you haven’t slept enough then you become more vulnerable. Vulnerable to worrying and pessimism. To not thinking as clearly as you usually do.

Get plenty of good quality sleep

What is holding people back from the life that they truly want to live? I'd say that one very common and destructive thing is that they don't know how to stop overthinking. They overthink every little problem until it becomes bigger and scarier than it actually is.

How to Stop Overthinking Everything: 12 Simple Habits

This rule was developed by Anders Ericsson and popularized by Malcolm Gladwell and states that we need  10,000 hours of deliberate practice to succeed at anything.This may create feelings of frustration, especially if you feel you don't have enough time.

Hack the 10,000 hour rule

<ul><li>Plus: Find mentors, real (maybe someone from your work) or virtual (from books).  Learn from someone with more experience than you.</li><li>Minus: Explain what you are learning while you are learning it. Teach someone with less experience than you.</li><li>Equal: Find people who love what you love and spend as much time talking about this shared area as you can.</li></ul>

Plus, Minus, Equal

Every skill worth learning has dozens of micro-skills.List the micro-skills. Figure out what you are good at, what you are bad at, and how you can learn to be better at each.

Micro-Skills

When you start learning something, you're usually pretty bad at it. This applies to everything worth learning.But that's good news. You can’t learn as much from succeeding because it’s harder to pinpoint where mistakes are.

Failure

Without energy, you can’t learn.If you don’t sleep enough, you’ll be too tired and you won’t learn. If you’re in a bad relationship, your brain will be distracted and you won’t learn.

Energy

Try to improve 1% a day at whatever it is you are trying to learn.This seems like a small number. But 1% a day, compounded, is 3800% per year.

The 1 percent rule

You can’t get better at chess just by reading about it. You have to play. Then you have to play in high stress situations (like a tournament).

Do it

I hate learning. I wanted to learn how to trade stocks and I ended up losing my home. I wanted to learn how to play chess better and in one of my first tournaments I threw all the pieces on the floor and cried. I wanted to learn to play poker and I lost about ...

Bite-sized knowledge
to upgrade
your career

Robert H.
@robhh

What Is REM Sleep? Definition and Benefits

How to Decide What to Work On - Scott H Young

How to get out of an inspiration slump at work

Your beliefs are much harder to justify than you think

The Precautionary Principle: Better Safe than Sorry?

Bite-sized knowledgeto upgradeyour career

Robert H.@robhh

What Is REM Sleep? Definition and Benefits

How to Decide What to Work On - Scott H Young

How to get out of an inspiration slump at work

Your beliefs are much harder to justify than you think

The Precautionary Principle: Better Safe than Sorry?

Bite-sized knowledge
to upgrade
your career

Robert H.
@robhh