Is there  scientific evidence that your subconscious is <i>really</i> &quot;still working&quot; on the first problem?<p>What if the break actually gives you time to <i>forget</i> chains of thought&#x2F;instinct which didn&#x27;t reach a satisfactory destination?<p>So you&#x27;re really just clearing some state for your semi-random search algorithm, before re-running.