We were all probably taught the same lessons growing up: children require an average of ten hours of sleep, teenagers need a minimum of eight, and adults need six. Of course, the actual recommended amount of sleep is significantly higher. According to Statistics Canada, adults in particular are strongly advised to have seven to nine hours of good quality rest–emphasis on “good quality”. This means not waking up frequently in the middle of the night. Reportedly, 77 percent of adults ranging 18-64 years old sleep within this recommended range, but only 61 percent have a good quality of rest.

Lack of sleep has a drastic effect on quality of life. It can lead to accidents, injuries, and an increased emotionally compromised state. Even just the act of thinking becomes a herculean task, significantly reducing general productivity and efficiency.

what does lack of sleep mean for writers?

For writers, lack of sleep could mean completely unfiltered writing. While this can be a good thing for early drafting stages, your later drafts will suffer from reduced quality. Finding grammar mistakes, plot holes, and other inconsistency errors will become like trying to find a needle in a haystack. You will ultimately find yourself increasingly frustrated as you try and fail to get work done and become demotivated.

In the end, depending on the length of your work, refining your draft may take twice as long. For instance, revising a one-thousand word short story may take a couple weeks rather than a few days.

what can you do to sleep better?

There are a couple ways you can try to increase your quality and duration of sleep:

1. keep yourself away from screens the hour before you sleep

While phones, tablets, and laptops are important productivity tools and provide entertainment during the day, they can be overly stimulating at night. It’s important to remove these devices from your place of rest around an hour before you’re supposed to sleep. 

If you need your phone beside you because it’s your alarm for the morning, you can turn it face-down so that you do not see your screen light up with notifications. Alternatively, you can simply turn off your notifications. This way, you won’t hear any pings and won’t be tempted to look at your phone.

2. reduce factors of stress

When you have a lot on your mind, sleep is the last thing you’re worrying about. Maybe you’re thinking about an exam, an appointment that’s making you anxious, or a plot bunny in your novel that you want to fix. It’s important to reduce the impact of stressors so you can relax and hopefully sleep properly.

Firstly, make sure to complete any tasks well before you intend to sleep. This includes studying, completing household chores, and, of course, continuing writing projects, especially if you’re in the revision and editing stage.

Once you’ve completed your tasks—or if there’s no task to complete at all, and you’re grappling with general anxiety—you can focus on winding down. You can watch your favourite Netflix show or movie, listen to music (preferably with no lyrics, such as Classical or Lo-Fi), or go on a walk. You can even start or continue writing the first draft of a new passion project, if this helps calm you down. Just make sure to keep away from screens the hour before you sleep—consider writing on a notebook instead!

remember, even if you can’t sleep, lie down anyways

In the end, lying down and closing your eyes is still better than staying awake and trying to do something “productive”. It’s important to give your body rest in any way that you can as you try to resolve your sleep issues.

If you’re experiencing prolonged issues with extreme sleep deprivation, or suspect insomnia, consult a family doctor or medical practitioner for further help. Also, if your stressors are caused by internal rather than external factors, consider seeking mental health resources and, if possible, a licensed therapist. Your body (and your writing) will thank you.