"The Beatles' song "Yesterday" was written in what psychologists refer to as the "hypnagogic state." This is the twilight zone between sleep and wakefulness, when we drowsily linger in a semi-conscious state, experiencing vivid mental images and sounds. Waking up one morning in early 1965, Paul McCartney became aware of a long complex melody playing inside his head. He jumped straight out of bed, sat down at his piano, and picked out the melody on the keys."
"Finding it difficult to believe that such a beautiful melody could emerge spontaneously, McCartney suspected that he was subconsciously plagiarizing another composition. As he recalled, "For about a month I went round to people in the music business and asked them whether they had ever heard it before ... I thought if no one claimed after a few weeks, then I could have it." 1 But it turned out to be original."
The hypnagogic state is the twilight zone between sleep and wakefulness when semi-consciousness produces vivid images and sounds. Paul McCartney experienced a complete melody in this state, immediately transcribing it at his piano and later confirming its originality after checking with peers. Many major discoveries and inventions have emerged from hypnagogic experiences, including Niels Bohr's atomic model conception while drifting off to sleep. Research identifies the hypnagogic state as a creative sweet spot. A 2021 study found participants in a hypnagogic state were three times more likely to discover a hidden rule that solved a mathematical problem. Individuals can learn to train themselves to utilize this creativity.
Read at Psychology Today
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