[cop359]

"I had a "gift" of being really creative and having my best ideas just before sleep, just waking up, and during insomnia episodes."

This is called Hypnogogia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypnogogia

The only way I can definitely replicate it is to stay up all night. The next day I will feel a lot more creative, but at the same time a lot less coordinated, frequently tired and not able to concentrate on doing something complicated. Also it's super easy to forget things, so you need to write down all your ideas.

I dunno if you often for instance stay up very very late with friends talking about things, but I think there is a similar effect at some point.

[kylebrown]

I remember reading about a famous inventor (can't remember who, sorry) who purposefully induced this state by holding something in his hand which would make a noise when let go. While falling asleep, the object (say, a metal ball) would drop (into say, a metal bowl), making enough noise to wake him up just as he was falling asleep. If an idea came he would write it down, if not he would repeat the process.

[epikur]

Salvador Dali:

http://www.arthurmag.com/2010/06/25/diy-magic-dropping-the-s...

The comments on that mention Thomas Edison also doing something similar.