A new study forthcoming in the journal Psychological Science may have the answer.
一项即将在《心理科学期刊》刊登的最新研究报告或许能给出答案。
A team of researchers led by Kristin Sanders of Northwestern University designed an experiment to test whether cueing music associated with unsolved brain teasers during sleep increased people's ability to solve those same brain teasers the next morning. Fascinatingly, they found that it did.
"Numerous studies in humans and other animals demonstrate better memory after sleep compared with a similar time awake," state the researchers. "Sleep-related memory processes not only strengthen but also can optimize, organize, and transform information."
To arrive at this conclusion, the researchers invited 57 students at Northwestern University to participate in a three-day, two-night study. On the first day, participants were presented with a series of difficult spatial and verbal puzzles. Here is one example. (The answer is provided at the end of this article.)
On a wall outside a closet door are three standard on/off switches. One (and only one) controls a light bulb inside the light-tight, well-insulated closet. The other two switches do nothing. You can only open the closet door once, and cannot change any switches after the door is open (or re-closed, for that matter). Damaging or disassembling the door, walls, or switches is against the rules. Within these constraints, how can you determine with certainty which switch controls the light bulb? — Sanders et al. (2019)
Forty-two puzzles like the one presented above were used in the experiment. Importantly, each puzzle was paired with a sound clip. The experimenters encouraged participants to try to solve the puzzles as well as to remember the different sound clips associated with each puzzle. Participants worked through the brain teasers until a total of six puzzles remained unsolved.
Next, participants took home a sleep monitoring device and sound cueing system that gathered data and played music while they slept. For instance, every time the machine detected slow-wave sleep(i.e., the type of sleep in which dreaming and memory re-organization is thought to occur), the machine cued music associated with some, but not all, of the unsolved brain teasers.
The next morning, participants were asked to try to figure out the puzzles they were not able to solve the day before. The experiment was repeated later that day and night, and participants again attempted to solve the unsolved puzzles the next morning.
Over the course of the two experimental sessions, the researchers found that participants were 55 percent more likely to solve puzzles on their second try when the corresponding sound clip was surreptitiously played while they slept. They also reported that the effect was not dependent on the type of puzzle; solve rates for both spatial and verbal puzzles increased when cued during sleep.
The authors conclude, “By demonstrating for the first time that targeted reactivation of puzzle memories during sleep improves problem-solving the following morning, we add to a growing literature recognizing sleep as useful for both strengthening and reorganizing memory.”
Time management is the process of planning and controlling how much time to spend on specific activities. 时间管理，指的是计划与控制要在某个事情上花多少时间的过程。
Good time management allows an individual to complete more in a shorter period of time, lowers the amount of stress, and leads to career success. 良好的时间管理让人事半功倍，帮人舒缓压力，走上职业成功之路。
Scientists are often passionate about their research, and frequently work long hours. However, it is not necessary to become a workaholic to be a good scientist. If you attempt to accomplish too many tasks simultaneously, the most likely outcome is that you will be overwhelmed in the forlorn hope of ‘catching up’. 科学家们经常热衷于他们的研究，而且经常工作很长时间。然而，要成为一个优秀的科学家，其实没有必要成为一个工作狂。如果你试图同时完成过多的任务，最有可能的结果是，明明完成不了，但为了“赶上进度”，你自己就先垮掉。
The amount and quality of what you achieve are crucially dependent on how effectively you manage your time. Here is some advice on how to better manage your time as a scientist, based on our experience as scientists and supervisors. 你所能取得的成就，其数量和质量的关键，就在于你怎样有效地管理你的时间。下面这些建议，基于我们作为科学家和导师的经验，可以告诉你科学家们怎样更有效地管理时间。
制定计划 Make a plan
There are many components that need to be drawn together to achieve success in a project. You want to deliver good science while simultaneously helping your manager, completing your training, coping with all the administration and dealing with the many other distractions you face. 为了在一个项目中取得成功，需要完成很多“子任务”。你想做好科研，同时也要帮你的导师干活，你要完成自己的培训，还得应付所有的行政管理事务，处理你面临的许多其他干扰。
Sometimes it is difficult not to feel overwhelmed. The best way to achieve success and preserve your sanity is to make a plan. This starts as a list of all the tasks that are either desirable or vital for accomplishing your goals. Write them down, don’t just rely on your memory: it’s not as good as you think it is. 有时候真的很难不垮掉。通往成功和保持理智的最好方法就是制定计划。一开始就要列一个清单，写出所有完成你的目标所需要的或者至关重要的任务。把它们写下来，不要只依赖你的记忆：你的记性通常没你想的那么好。
Next comes the crucial step of prioritizing. Highlight tasks on your list to signify their urgency. This allows you to identify at a glance the tasks that you need to focus on. Consider how crucial these items are to your career and the success of your organization, and when they need to be completed — not how enjoyable or easy they will be. Focus only on one item at a time: the others can wait their turn. You will need to update and review your list regularly, but don’t deny yourself the pleasure of putting your pen through items that you have completed. 接下来的这一重要步骤，就是排列任务优先级。把列表中的任务涂上高亮，表示其紧迫性。这就让你可以一目了然地确定需要特别关注的任务。要考虑到这些事项对你的职业生涯和组织的成功有多重要，以及什么时候需要完成这些事项——不要按照任务的愉快度和容易度来排列。一段时间内只做一件事：其他事项也要按顺序来。同时，你还需要定期更新和复盘你的任务优先表，完成一项划掉一项，让自己享受这种快感。
当心分心 Beware of distractions
Take a long, hard look at your relationship with e-mail and social media. Although they are vital to everyday communication, they can claim much more attention than they deserve. Consider shutting them off completely as you work on a task that requires your full attention. 认真观察一下你和电子邮件还有社交媒体的关系。尽管它们对日常交流至关重要，但它们还是会占用很多不该被分散的注意力。在你做一项需要全神贯注的事时，不妨把它们全部关掉。
学会拒绝 Learn to say ‘no’
Many business leaders put a lot of their success down to simply saying ‘no’. That is, they prioritize their efforts in the few areas that really matter and have the courage to say no to everything else. Those asking for your involvement would be more disappointed if you unwisely agreed to do something, but then failed to deliver. Be realistic with yourself, and honest with others. 许多商业领袖把他们的成功简单地归结为：说“不”。也就是说，他们把自己的精力放在少数真正重要的领域，并且还有勇气拒绝其他任何事情。如果你盲目答应了别人什么事情，但又没能做好，这些人估计会比你一开始不答应他们要更失望。对自己要现实，对他人要诚实。
Saying no is much more difficult if you are, or perceive yourself to be, low down in the hierarchy of your organization. Nevertheless, it’s important to be honest and to look after your health. Sharing your prioritized list with your supervisor will also help with any potentially difficult discussions around not being able to deliver or take on additional work. 如果你在组织的层级中处于较低的位置，或者认为自己处于较低的位置，那么拒绝别人就困难得多。但不管怎样，诚实对人并且关照自己的健康才是重要的。把你的任务优先计划共享给你的导师，就算有不能承接或者完成不了的额外工作，你们之间的谈话也会变简单。
适当休息 Give yourself a break
Taking breaks is good for your brain. Don’t be hard on yourself: you will actually perform better if you take breaks and cultivate a life outside science. This might seem counter-intuitive with all those tasks on your list, but solutions to apparently intractable problems can come from a refreshed brain — and a brain that can keep things in perspective. 适当休息对你的大脑有好处。不要对自己太苛刻：如果你休息一下，培养一下科研之外的生活爱好，实际上你会表现得更好。看着你清单上的繁重任务，貌似休息并不符合常理，不过，面对明显很难解决的问题，一个精力充沛的大脑才能给出解决方案——焕新的大脑才能帮你恰当处理这些问题。
Try to avoid looking at your work e-mails when you are not working. They do not need to be answered until the next working day. The world will not collapse if you delay opening some e-mails. 不工作的时候尽量不要查看你的工作电子邮件，下一个工作日之前回复都不迟。这世界不会因为你晚点看邮件就崩塌。
忌骛高远 Don’t try to chase every great idea
The other side of permitting yourself time to explore alternative ideas, as well as the suggestions of managers and colleagues, is that you are left with a lengthening list of new directions to investigate. Try to distinguish between things that would be nice to have and things that are crucial to the delivery of your project, or PhD, on time. 花时间探索新想法、听取导师和同事的建议的一个副作用就是——你的任务清单会多出过多方向。你需要把“好点子”和“对完成项目与学位至关重要的事情”区分开来。
计划迭代 Update your plan
Your plan and priority list will need to be regularly updated, particularly when things are not going well. Don’t panic if your experiments or initiatives fail: instead, redraft your plan and aim to offload all other distracting tasks as you devote more time to a resolution. Work with your supervisor to formulate an updated list of priorities: your mentor can bring their experience and wisdom to the problem, as well as reassurance to you. 你的计划和优先事项清单需要定期更新，尤其是当事情进展不顺利的时候。如果你的实验或计划失败了，不要慌：相反，你应该重新制定你的计划，目标是把所有其他分散注意力的任务都取消掉，进而全身心地解决一个重要问题。跟你的导师商量，一起制定一份最新的优先事项清单：导师的经验和智慧能帮你解决问题，让你安心些。
大多数人生只有三万天左右，你可能已经过完了七八千。Time is money, 剩下的财富你打算怎么花呢？
Succeeding against the odds and in the face of time pressure is one of the most valuable experiences you can offer to a future employer. 面对时间的紧迫，成功应付困难，一定会为你接下来的工作提供最有价值的经验之一。
Notes
forlorn n 不大可能成功的；难以实现的 workaholic n 工作狂 desirable adj 想望的；可取的；值得拥有的 prioritize v 按重要性排列；划分优先顺序 deny v 节制；克制；戒绝 claim v 夺走；占用 intractable adj 很难对付（或处理）的；难驾驭的； perspective n 客观判断力；权衡轻重的能力 odd n 不利条件；掣肘的事情
品味经典·爱上人文：绿山墙的安妮
Anne of Green Gables
Anne, grew up at Green Gable with her foster parents, whom she chose to care for instead of pursuing college.
