An afternoon nap facilitates analogical transfer in creative problem solving.

In analogical problem solving, the solution to a previously experienced problem (source) is used to solve a new but structurally similar problem (target). Yet, analogical transfer is seldom successful, as structural commonalities between source and target problems can be difficult to recognise. Theoretically, memory consolidation processes during REM sleep may help to identify and strengthen connections between weakly related memories, improving the ability to use analogical transfer.