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I’m amazed by the number of times I’ve awoken from a good night’s sleep with a clear answer to a specific problem—no conscious thinking required. That could be the opening sentence to a writing assignment I didn’t know how to start, the best way to overcome a disagreement with a coworker, or how to approach a crucial conversation with a family member.

It might not make sense on paper. But then again, neither do dreams, gravity, or the first time someone put peanut butter and chocolate together. And yet, they work—beautifully.

The truth is, our subconscious mind can do a lot of heavy lifting (if not all of it) when it comes to solving problems. Some of the greatest thinkers of all time—Thomas Edison, Winston Churchill, David Ogilvy—were loud champions of stepping away, slowing down, and letting the back of their brain chew on things. Not by grinding harder. But by sleeping longer, walking slower, birdwatching, vacationing, or just staring into the ether until the fog lifted.

So how does that actually work? And more importantly, how can you bottle a little of that magic for yourself?

Don’t think about it

Let’s start with this beautiful contradiction: to solve a complex problem, your best bet might be to stop thinking about it.

According to Dutch neuroscientist Ap Dijksterhuis, there’s this thing called “unconscious thought theory.” It basically says our brains are constantly digesting problems behind the scenes—even when we’re not paying attention. Dijksterhuis found that participants who distracted themselves with unrelated activities made better complex decisions than those who obsessed over details.

In other words, your brain is like a supercomputer that doesn’t always want you looking over its shoulder. Give it space. Step back. Let it breathe. That’s when breakthroughs bubble up.

Do sleep on it

Let’s go full dreamland for a moment. Ever wake up with the answer to something you wrestled with the day before? That’s not random. That’s science.

While you sleep, your brain cycles through memory consolidation, emotional regulation, and some truly fascinating behind-the-scenes neural networking. According to Dr. Mike Dow, author of The Brain Fog Fix, sleep is a “clearinghouse for thoughts”—a place where your mind quietly pieces together puzzles while you snore away like a log.

And here’s the kicker: even naps count. Thomas Edison was a notorious napper, often dozing in his lab with a ball bearing in hand. If he drifted too deeply, the ball would drop and wake him—leaving him somewhere between dreamland and lucidity. That semi-conscious state? Prime idea territory.

Write it down

Want to turbocharge your subconscious problem-solving? Do this: write your problem down. Just once. Just enough to clarify what’s bothering you.

According to brain researcher Jacob Korthuis, writing activates both hemispheres of the brain and gives your subconscious a clear target. It’s like handing your inner Sherlock Holmes a file marked “Open Case—Please Solve While I Go Make a Sandwich.”

And that’s the trick: once it’s written, leave it alone. Don’t stare at it. Don’t rehash it a dozen times. Trust your mind to wander and weave while you go live your life. The solution will arrive. Probably when you least expect it.

Get a room

Ever notice how some answers tend to show up in specific places? Maybe your best ideas hit in the shower. Or while driving. Or—guilty as charged—on the toilet.

That’s because our environment can act like a filing system for our thoughts. Dr. John Demartini, a leading human behavior specialist, calls this “thought zoning.” If you associate certain places with creative thinking or deep reflection, your mind starts showing up with the right tools at the right times.

Use this to your advantage. Need to problem-solve something big? Go for a walk in the park you always feel calm in. Or sit in your “idea chair.” Over time, your brain will learn the cues.

Let it snowball

Once your subconscious has a little momentum, it gets better and better at showing up for you. Just like muscles remember reps, your mind remembers results.

So the next time you feel stuck, don’t panic. Don’t force it. Don’t doom scroll or angrily pace the kitchen (well, maybe pace once). Instead, trust the system. Sleep. Walk. Write. Wander. Then wait for that gentle nudge in the right direction.

When it comes—often out of nowhere—it’ll feel like magic. But it’s not. It’s your subconscious. It’s science. It’s you, being brilliant without even trying.

Blake Snow contributes to fancy publications and Fortune 500 companies as a bodacious writer-for-hire and seasoned travel journalist to all seven continents. He lives in Provo, Utah with his wife, five children, and one ferocious chihuahua.