Incubation substantially increases the odds of solving a problem, and benefits from long incubation periods with low cognitive workloads. Many guides to effective thinking and problem solving advise the reader to set problems asides for a time.
This happens because during Incubation is that the brain continues to work on the problem below the level of consciousness. This unconscious work results in better solutions because it allows the brain to make to new connections between previously unrelated concepts.
This notion of Unconscious Work during incubation periods is supported by a review of experimental studies and particularly by studies using the Immediate Incubation paradigm. Creative problem solving, in which novel solutions are required, has often been seen as involving a special role for unconscious processes (Unconscious Work) which can lead to sudden intuitive solutions (insights) when a problem is set aside during incubation periods.
