No matter how much coffee you drink or how much sleep you sacrifice, there are still just 24 hours in a day. That's why some overachievers have tried to work out schemes to learn languages and other materials while they're asleep. Listening to educational tapes while snoozing may work in the movies, but there's no evidence that it helps us learn anything in real life [source: Hewitt].

The relationship between sleep and higher brain function is complicated and not completely understood. Scientists still don't agree on all of the exact biological and evolutionary reasons for sleep. Yet we do know that when we enter the stages of what is called "deep sleep," the parts of the brain involved in forming emotions, social interaction and decision-making slow to a crawl. This is possibly to help us function more effectively in these same areas the next day [source: NIH]. So while it's highly unlikely that you'll ever wake up in the morning suddenly able to speak French or Urdu thanks to your slumber-sessions with a language CD, sleep can both recalibrate your tired brain and make new connections between important pieces of information you already learned while you were awake. This, in turn, could help you find quicker and better solutions to the problems you face each day.

In a 2009 study at the University of California at San Diego, researchers found that REM sleep -- rapid eye movement, the stage with the boldest and most memorable dreams -- changes neurotransmitter systems. The scientists who staged the experiment had participants attempt to perform a "creative problem-solving" task once in the morning, and again later in the day, after either a nap or a period of rest. The subjects who had a nap with REM sleep did almost 40 percent better than those who slept without reaching the REM stage, or those who just rested quietly [source: ScienceDaily]. So while one popular image of the modern genius may include relentless all-nighters with energy drinks and pizza, sleep and general health certainly aren't bad for creativity.

Everyone's sleep needs are different. Though most people tend to experience lighter, shorter periods of sleep as they get older, the majority of adults need at least seven to eight hours each night [source: Bonnet and Arand]. To maximize REM sleep -- and perhaps get from point A to point B faster in your work -- you can take a few simple steps: Avoid caffeine, alcohol and nicotine if possible, and certainly in the hours before bedtime. Abnormally hot or cold bedrooms can also interfere with REM sleep cycles [source: NIH]. And since most slumberers would find the sensation of someone speaking into their ears a distracting obstacle on the road to a good night's rest, it's probably best to save the textbooks-on-tape for your waking hours.