- Ensure you’re not losing out on sleep due
to a medical problem such as sleep apnea,
or that any medication you take isn’t
interfering with sleep. - Consider using apps as described on
page 68, or those that use calming music
or sound (such as natural sounds, guided
meditations, hypnotic techniques or
whihitte noiise)). - Try as far as possible to stick to a schedule
of going to bed and waking up at the same
time each day – even at weekends. - Even 20-30 minutes of exercise a day
makes a big difference, but avoid doing
this in the three hours or so before bed. - Steer clear of stimulants such as caffeine
or nicotine later in the day. - While it makes you sleepy, alcohol has
aa ddisrisruptuptiveive effeffectect ononththee qqualualityity anandd
duration of sleep. Best avoided before bed. - A huge influence on sleep-wake needs is
the exposp ure to lightg. Specp ific cells in our
retinas process light to send messages to
the brain about whether it should prepare
itself for day or night. This means that
light exposure makes it hard to fall asleep
in the first place, and if you’re awakened. - Try out different pre-bed relaxation
routines to findwhat works foryoyu. These
might include a bath, reading and, perhaps
most importantly, removing screens
(including phones, unless of course you’re
usiusingng slesleepep appapps)s) frofromm tthehe bedbedrooroomm. - If these don’t work, consider hypnosis,
either from a pprofessional or using gself-
hypnosis such as apps like Relax & Sleep
Well Hypnosis. - If you’re lying awake in bed becoming
increasingly frustrated, it’s better to get
up and do something else for a bit. Try
reading, listening to music, sketching,
plalyini g an iinstrument or makiking lliists,
until you feel tired.
10 tips for a good
night’s sleep
sleep, meaning you can simply “take
dictation” of the solution on waking.
This means it’s crucial to turn to the
work in hand first thing: “If you don’t
do that then the mind just organises
itself around the new day,” he says. “It’s
a simple idea, but a very potent one. If
you go right to your work first thing
you get three huge benefits: the ability
to use your sleep thinking; you get a lot
of work done by virtue of just showing
up; and finally there’s the existential
benefit of having achieved the creative
work early, you get more meaning from
the rest of the day.”
For those who struggle to get to
sleep, this might seem like a daunting
- if not daft – prospect. Surely you’re
even less likely to drop off if you’re
lying in bed problem-solving? The
key is to reframe whatever creative
block you’re having. “If you go to bed
with a ‘wonder’ rather than a ‘worry’
about some creative problem, your
brain will run with that. It won’t keep
you up all night saying, ‘Hey, sleeping
mind, go to work!’” says Eric. “People
don’t understand that they’re missing
the opportunity to work on creative
projects while they sleep. We’ve spent
so much time looking into dreaming,
we’ve ignored our power to think while
we sleep, and all it takes is going to bed
in a certain way.”
PRIORITISE SLEEP FOR
HEALTH AND CREATIVITY
The increasingly prevalent ‘always-on’
culture is dangerous, and it’s fair to
say many agencies push this culture
in their demanding working hours.
For freelancers, the fact that we can
now check emails, deal with clients
and make revisions outside of working
hours, or traditional dedicated
working spaces, isn’t exactly conducive
to nourishing sleep, when we can do all
those things whenever and wherever,
and across different time zones. It’s
important to have a routine, and one
that prioritises rest and sleep, as well as
being firm with clients that are prone
to making unreasonable demands: not
expecting responses at the end of the
work day, or in the middle of night,
for instance, and being mindful when
working with someone in a different
time zone. If you can afford one, an
agent can be a great mediator when
client demands become too much.
The same goes for demands on
yourself. Treat yourself as you would
your friends, and make sure your
health, and sleep health, come first- before work, design school, ‘side
hustles’ and so on. Technology is
obviously a wonderful thing that’s
transformed the way creatives work,
but it’s also made us restless, and less
likely to give in to the very things that
make people creative, like daydreaming
or just looking at the world around us.
Ideas don’t switch off when the
lights do, but it’s vital to get shut-eye,
and to prioritise it. As the experts we’ve
spoken to have proven, sleep is not
only essential to remain healthy, but
to remain creative. If you don’t have
mental energy and clarity, it won’t
just be hard to get the work done –
it’ll be nigh-on impossible to play,
experiment, think in new ways and
deal with stress.