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Exploring the Rhythms of Mind: Music, Sleep, and Creativity at the Crossroads of Science and Innovation

03.07.2025 | 16:15 c.t. - 18:00

Julia von Thienen (German University of Digital Science, Potsdam) 

The interplay between music, brain dynamics, and human experience is an emerging frontier rich with scientific promise and practical potential. This talk explores how music and sleep intersect with creativity, team bonding, and cognitive performance – an inherently interdisciplinary inquiry bridging neuroscience, computer science, musicology, sleep research, and innovation studies.

The presentation begins by introducing design thinking as an approach to innovation, and neurodesign as its area of specialization emphasizing neuroscientific perspectives on the phenomena under study. Both music and sleep have been long-standing topics of research in this context, particularly in relation to creativity. Music is commonly used to influence brain dynamics and mental states, especially during active creative work. Different types of music support different stages of the creative process, each requiring distinct cognitive mindsets. While many stages benefit from elevated EEG alpha activity, additional cognitive demands vary depending on the specific tasks involved.

In addition, music is used to enhance bonding within creative teams, particularly through rhythmic elements that induce psychophysiological synchrony, helping teams align and operate on a shared wavelength – an effect well-documented in our field. Sleep, dreams, mind-wandering, and transitional states between wakefulness and sleep have also been explored, highlighting phenomena of relaxation versus muscle tension and stress, mental imagery, and creativity.

Drawing on insights from both academic research and applied projects in neurodesign and the broader academic literature, this session underscores how research findings can be integrated into practical, artistic, and functional innovation.

Zeit & Ort

03.07.2025 | 16:15 c.t. - 18:00

Institut für Theaterwissenschaft der Freie Universität Berlin
Hörsaal
Grunewaldstraße 35
12165 Berlin