08:25
Yea, reading the current version of the question the OP was asking about "taking a break from thinking" but then links articles that talk about sleep. I think for an answer to fulfill the rigorous scientific standards that are requested in the answers, this ought to be cleared up and maybe split into 2 questions.
It seems to me that the hypothesis that "people will have more clarity about a problem after taking a break and returning to it" should be easily verified, however as with all psychological studies it's probably going to be a bit squishy and subject to various problems, like the observer effect.
I mean would the annecdotal account of the OP falsify the hypothesis that "taking a break helps with problem solving" or would this one occurrence still fit in the general statistically significant trend of the original hypothesis?
Discussion on answer by oliver_siegel…
Discussion on answer by oliver_siegel…