A team led by Lacaux conducted experiments to determine the most effective objects for participants to hold during short naps. Among various items tested—such as spoons, steel spheres, and stress balls—it was concluded that cups were the superior choice. Intriguingly, many participants acknowledged an unspoken rule when they were jolted awake by the sound of a falling cup. The naps were intentionally kept brief, allowing participants to only enter the light, non-REM N1 sleep phase.
Initially, Schuck’s team aimed to replicate Lacaux’s findings by acquiring the same type of cups used in the original study. However, their attempts did not yield the expected outcomes. “For us, it just didn’t work. People who fell asleep often didn’t drop these cups—I don’t know why,” Schuck remarked.
The team faced an even larger setback when they discovered that achieving the N1 sleep phase did not produce the anticipated results either.
Tracking the Dots
In a follow-up experiment, Schuck’s team enlisted 90 participants to complete a task involving tracking moving dots on a screen, with a nap interlude lasting 20 minutes. The dots, which were small and colored either purple or orange, moved in one of two directions, presenting varying levels of difficulty based on how much jitter the researchers added.
A significant breakthrough for participants relied on recognizing a concealed pattern related to the colors. After several trials with random movement, the researchers introduced a structured change: orange dots consistently moved in one direction while purple dots moved in the opposite. It was the responsibility of the participants to uncover this relationship, whether they were awake or possibly through insights gained during their napping period.
