<aside> 💡 This article is part of a series entitled #29 Organisation for creatives

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I’m still working on this one. But you need to get a lot of sleep. More than you think. I’m the guy that prided himself on sleeping less than 5 hours a night in his twenties. Now I dearly want to hit 8 hours every night.

Sleep is wondrous. It has so many benefits it’s hard to comprehend how truly essential it is to our collective well-being. Sleep obviously improves comprehension and concentration, it’s even been suggested that you lose functional IQ points as you get more tired (not a great look for a creative person). But even that’s very much the tip of the iceberg. Lack of sleep has been variously linked to weight gain, athletic performance, heart health, diabetes, depression, autoimmune diseases, chronic inflammation and emotional distress. So probably worth sorting out if you haven’t already.

There are a number of things I recommend to help make this happen:

• No screens after 10:30 as the unnatural light can leave your mind whizzing and cartwheeling around the inside of your skull. Kindles or eBook readers tend to be fine as they’re not pumping out blue light. If you HAVE to use a screen late at night, invest in a pair of blue light glasses. My favourite are by Barner.
• Declutter your bedroom so its only purpose is as a place to sleep (if you have the space to make this possible). Use blackout blinds in the summer so that you’re not disturbed by outside light.
• Don’t consume caffeine or sugar close to bedtime - also maybe cut down on those things at all other times too?
• Use alarms that increase the light in the room slowly - it’s a much more pleasant way to be woken up than the sudden jump-shock of a beeping alarm.
• Use a white noise generator to mask the environment around you, especially if you live next to a main road.

Hope some of these help? Let me know if you have any sleep hacks that you use?