Creative People Need More Sleep
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Ever wondered why you (or your child) are often tired or need your sleep more badly than others?
Creative people are impressionable. They see more, notice more, feel more than others. In a world where we are bombarded with constant impulses, we need even more time to digest and absorb this constant assault on our senses than ever before.
Sleep has two functions. In the deep sleep our bodies are restored and rested. In the dream sleep our minds are swept clean of stuff left hanging from the day before. Anything that takes up mind space, takes up energy. If a concern is resolved in the physical, external world which we inhabit, the energy is freed up. Otherwise this ‘live wire’, or active template, will be deactivated during the dream sleep, a natural means to free up energy required to wake up mentally refreshed the next day.
Think for a moment about the demands that thirty minutes of fast-paced film, TV or computer make on the unconscious mind. Each cut in the movie generates a new image which activates an inner template (or ‘alertness’) which holds onto energy. To lead a functional life, we need to create space every day to let go of the acumulated mental clutter. Modern people need their sleep more urgently than their ancestors. Yet, we now sleep less than ever before. Where an average night’s sleep in the early 20th century lasted 10 hours, we now barely seem to manage 6 hours.
So, here’s how to unwind, relax and restore yourself, if you are a creative person.
1. Allow for daily ‘drifting’ time. ‘Drifting’ time is vital for your well-being. Daydreaming keeps you sane. Whether that means taking a daily stroll in the woods, a potter in the garden, messing around with your bike, or just plain daydreaming, is up to you. But what is important is allowing yourself the regular opportunity to be unaccountable to anyone else.
2. Sleep well. Make sure that you sleep well and enough.
As always, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. Experiment with what works best for you, using these two guiding principles and you will find that you can clear the cupboards of booze, (pharmaceutical) drugs and other pots of false gold that never really did the job in the first place.
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