The God Hours: Why Your Best Ideas May Come in the Middle of the Night

Have you ever woken up at 2 a.m. with an idea you couldn't stop thinking about?

In this episode of Brave Moves, Julie DeLucca-Collins explores the fascinating history of biphasic sleep, the science of creativity, theta brainwaves, and why some of our greatest insights may emerge during the quiet hours of the night.

Drawing on historical research, neuroscience, and her own experience launching her business after a 2 a.m. breakthrough, Julie shares why silence, reflection, and stillness may be the missing ingredients for creativity, innovation, and personal growth.

In This Episode

•  What biphasic sleep is 
•  The history of first sleep and second sleep 
•  The science behind delta and theta brainwaves 
•  Why creativity often emerges during quiet moments 
•  How Julie received the vision for her business at 2 a.m. 
•  Why stillness is essential for innovation and growth 
•  How to create your own "God Hour"

Transcript

0:01

Have you ever woken up at 2:00 AM and immediately thought, "Oh, great. I'm awake now"? And maybe you look at the clock, maybe you roll over and hear your husband sleeping soundly, and you get very, very jealous. And maybe you started worrying about how tired you'd be the next day. But what if waking up in the middle of the night isn't necessarily a flaw? I know, hear me out, especially you in midlife women who are obsessed with this insomnia thing. What if... I want you to think about that. What if the most of human history But what if waking up in the middle of the night isn't necessarily a flaw? What if, for most of human history, it was completely normal? And today, I wanna talk about something fascinating called biphasic sleep, and the science of creativity, and what some people call the God hours, and why some of our greatest insights may come from the world being asleep and us creating. Now, let's dive in into this. But of course, if you haven't been able to subscribe, I would love it. Do me a favor, I would love it. Please subscribe, share this episode. Help us continue to grow this podcast so that we can continue to help others navigate their life bravely. And if you stay with me till the end, I'm gonna share one of the biggest breakthroughs I ever had at 2:00 AM, and why it changed the direction of my life. So let's get into it. The sleep pattern we forgot. Most of us have been taught that a healthy sleep means going to bed, sleeping eight hours, and going straight through, waking up in the morning without interruption But for much of human history, as I've been checking things out, that's not how people slept. You know, the historian Roger Ekrich spent years researching sleep patterns, and before electricity became common, what he'd discover was freaking fascinating. People often slept in two phases. They would go to sleep shortly after sunset and wake up for an hour or two during the night, and then they would return to what they call their second sleep. This wasn't considered insomnia. That wasn't considered a problem. It was complete-- it was completely normal, and people used those quiet hours in the nighttime to pray, to reflect, to read, think, or simply just sit in silence. And can you imagine doing that today? No notifications, no emails, no social media that we pull, just stillness. Some people refer to those quiet nighttime moments as the God hours, not necessarily because they're religious, but because they're something we rarely experience anymore: silence, space, reflection. I often have to get up in the middle of the night at that particular time, and one of the things that I love is that we have a window in the bathroom. And often, I'll look out the window at those moments and look at the quiet, and it helps me just to think, "Wow, the world is out there, and it's still." And, the world at that time is not demanding anything from you, and nobody needs a response. Nobody is asking for your attention, and perhaps that's why these hours have fascinated artists, thinkers, and writers and creators for many centuries. And not because magic happens at two AM, but because our distractions disappear. Now, the brains has a creative window. Now let's talk about the science. When we are in deep sleep, our brains operate primarily in a delta brainwave activity, and delta waves are associated with healing, restoration, and deep rest. And as we wake up, our brains begin transitioning through the theta brainwave activity before becoming fully alert. And theta is fascinating. Researchers have linked theta states to creativity, intuition, imagination, memory integration, insight, and learning. This brief transition between sleeping and fully waking is sometimes called a hypnopompic state And it's that space between our analytical mind isn't fully online yet, but your inner critic is also quiet, and our logical brain hasn't taken over completely, and sometimes ideas emerge more easily. Now, this doesn't mean every person who wakes up at two AM enters into a magical flow state, but it may help explain some of our most creative thoughts arrive during these moments. For me, my breakthrough at two AM, I can tell you this from personal experience, came when I started my business. That same day I got laid off, I went to bed with a heavy heart and knowing that, yes, I was starting a business. But I woke up at two AM. I didn't have a complete business plan. I didn't know exactly what everything I would l- offer would look like, but I certainly didn't have every single answer in place, but I had clarity at that time. I suddenly knew what I wanted to create. I knew who I wanted to help, and I knew the impact that I would make. And the mission came before the roadmap. The vision came before the strategy, and honestly, that often is how life works. We think we need the answers before we begin. Sometimes all we need is the next insight and the next brave step, and the pieces of the puzzle just kind of fall together. And as I woke up in the middle of the night that night, I grabbed something to write, and it was my phone, I will admit. But rather than scrolling social media, I went directly to the Notes app, and I started to write. I started to write that mission, that vision, and it's so clear, and it's been the thing that guides me. No matter how-- maybe there might been some pivots and stumbles, but the mission and vision remain the same. And why does this matter today? Now let me be clear. I'm not suggesting you intentionally disrupt your sleep. I'm a huge believer of protecting your physical health and getting enough rest because good sleep matters, recovery matters, and health matters. And and as I'm getting through this coughing thing and bronchitis with my cough variant asthma acting up, I know that definitely sleep and rest are incredibly important. And the thing is, one of the reasons I find this topic so fascinating is because sometimes I wonder whether my own broken sleep patterns are simply insomnia or whether there are moments where my brain is trying to process, create, or connect ideas. But here's what I know. We've become uncomfortable with silence. We've become uncomfortable with being alone in our thoughts. And whether we experience a quiet moment, we immediately reach for a screen. We consume, we scroll, we distract instead of listening. So don't be afraid to create, my friend. I think one of the saddest things we do is dismiss our ideas before they even have a chance. An idea appears, a possibility emerges, a dream surfaces, and immediately we say, "That's unrealistic. That would never work. Who am I to do that?" Mm-hmm. But what if the idea arrived for a reason? What if your next breakthrough isn't hiding in another podcast, another course, another book, or another social media post? What if that idea is already inside you? What if s- it simply needs some quiet space to emerge and percolate? What every meaningful thing starts with an idea, my friend, a possibility, a vision, and sometimes those visions arrive when the rest of the world is sleeping. And here's the truth moment, my friend It may be that your next breakthrough may not require you to have more information at the palm of your hands. It may require more stillness. So here's your brave move for today. Create your own God hour. Not necessarily at 2:00 AM. Maybe it's 6:00 AM before the house wakes up. Maybe it's 20 minutes on your porch, or maybe it's a quiet walk, or sitting with a journal and a cup of coffee or tea. No phone, no distractions, no notifications, just simple white space. Because your next insight may already be waiting for you. It just needs some quiet to emerge. You know, my friend, the world constantly is telling us to consume more, to have more information, that the content is already out there. There's so much noise. But wisdom is often, I have found, comes and arrives in our lives when we are in silence. And maybe the lessons from our ancestors isn't that we should sleep exactly as they did. Maybe the lesson is that we need more moments of stillness, more opportunities to think, and more room to listen, because sometimes the most important voice you'll ever hear is your own. And sometimes the most important vision arrives before the plan. So don't be afraid of your ideas and your creativity. Don't be afraid to dream. And those dreams that keep showing up, they're showing up for a reason. And I know that it may feel random, and. I have an invitation for you to create, to grow, an invitation to become. And that, my friend, is your brave move.