Sunday 15 January 2012

Sleep deprivation...


Not something I thought would ever be a top blog topic for me but recent conversations with people working in the creative industries have proven interesting. I suffer from frequent inability to sleep and find myself restlessly and irritably lying awake half the night wishing I was asleep – the product of an overactive imagination I think.

What is surprising is that this is a condition that seems to be all too frequent amongst creative professionals. Four out of the five people I spoke to are suffering in the same way as myself – they are a reader at a literary agency, a web developer, a photographer, a part time lecturer/part time writer and an editor.

So what is it about the creative mind that is so hard to quieten at the end of the day?

In my case I think my mind tries hard to make sense of the day’s activities by weaving them into stories and so I find it very hard to switch off and find a state of relaxation that does not involve plot points or characterisation. For me writing helps to digest the things I hear and see and I find a more restful night always comes after a more productive day on the writing front. Solution – write more!

Elloise Hopkins.

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