Anybody here have the HORRIBLE habit of not getting any sleep…consistently?
I’ve got a 8:30-5:30 day job (plus a half day Saturday shift) and I usually end up asleep at around 12AM-1:30AM…daily. I have to be out of bed by 7AM.
Its starting to take it’s tole (physically and mentally). So much so, I’ve found myself searching the net for control mechanisms…something that would literally cut me off at a certain hour. The thing is that the night time is the time Im most active mentally and creatively overall. Ideas start to flow (and so does the wine) once darkness falls. I actually feel like Im missing something if I did not stay up searching the net for various bits of information or creating sounds in my room on the DAW.
One of my goals for 09 was getting sleep like the rest of the world does and it’s not working out too well. At this point it is a bit of an addiction (in a bad way). The days my body has literally forced me to sleep at 8PM I’ve felt like literally a different person. I’ve seriously underrated clear thoughts, outlook and coherent consciousness.
Anybody else have this problem (pathetic addiction)? Any solutions you’ve learned to use (besides the obvious self discipline and self control?) How do traveling DJs do it?
man im a insomniac! i havent been able to get good sleep since I went to the sand box back in 2003. i work from 11 to 8 and dj a couple times per week. and I usually sleep from 3 to 4 am and im up by 8 am. best way to get sleep is log off of djtt turn off the computer and count sheep. if not a beer or shot of jd does the trick
you know… maybe if I did have the pleasure, inspiration, stimulation and adrenaline of spinning for hyped crowds I may…I would forget about it temporarily. (working on it)
Seriously though…its becoming a health issue for me. I’m going to have to really buckle down.
A few tips from someone who used to be physically unable to fall asleep before 1am…
First off, cut back on the caffeine. It will suck at first because you’ll feel like you’re exhausted in the mornings, but that feeling will help you fall asleep easier later. I used to do 2-3 energy drinks a day, but now I’m down to no more than 1 only a few times a week. My body was horribly physically dependent on caffeine so I’m still somewhat weening off, but cutting down helped me a bunch. It seems like stupid common sense, but it really does make a difference.
Secondly, quit smoking cigs. I was never a heavy smoker (1-2 packs a week at my worst), but quitting definitely helped me sleep easier, and I’ve heard the same from friends who have quit. If you get even small withdrawals, consider them somewhat of a blessing because they’ll tire your body out more during the day having to deal with them, and that will help you nod off at night.
If you don’t exercise or do at least some notable physical activity during the day, start doing so. A big part of my problem is growing up as an active child I always had lots of energy, and once I started working a desk job I never got to release and having all that energy still built up would keep me out. I moved to a job at a bike shop and started riding more after work and on my off days, and being able to actually break a sweat and burn off some energy and stress really helped me out.
In a nutshell, quieting your body and ridding it of external stimulation is the key. Through fixing my own sleep situation, I realized a lot of stuff I was doing was harming my body and I like to think I live a much healthier life now because of it (keyword think )
i’d say get a job with hours better suited to your lifestyle.
you are straight up blind if you think addiction to creativity is a bad thing imo. change your surroundings to serve yourself and not the other way around
well ever since i got into djing i am testing out stuff, coding my midi controller, reading this forum .. sleep is much reduced.
at any rate, the most important thing is to make the most of the sleep you do get. the key is to ensure that you never interrupt a REM phase. usually we need 2-3 REM phases per day .. dont remember exactly, but a REM phase including leadup time is around 1.5 to 2.5 hours, healthy adults usually need 6-7 hours of sleep per night. the good news is that with a little getting used to .. you can break up those REM phases across an entire day. some people claim its actually better to always just sleep one REM phase at a time.
i dont have one of those, but there are alarm clocks and software tools that monitor your movements while you sleep with a camera. based on this information and the time you want to wake up at the latest, they can determine if they need to ring the alarm early, so that you do not have to be woken up in the middle of a REM phase.
that would be awesome. Maybe I will try this, sleeping three times daily. I am always more productive at night, barring the amazing power of the internet there are fewer distractions.
any addiction is a bad thing, to creativity or otherwise.
i agree with comments said before. cut caffeine, stop smoking, creative a scheduled bedtime and stick to it. it will take several weeks to get into the routine and for your body to get used to it. but eventually you wont need to look at the time before your body will let you know when it is time to sleep. remember, your health, family and dayjob are more important then your creative process. you have to prioritize.
Not trying to Hi-Jack this one, but wanted to point out that addiction is not a bad thing. People with addictive personalities, Addicts , can never overcome addiction. Rather the way to cope with it is to replace unhealthy addictions with healthy ones, like going to the gym.
I had many sleep problems as well, but would like to point out that going to the gym was a huge help for me. It wears your body out and makes you feel great at the same time. Shouldnt have any problems after that, plus i usually feel very creative after the gym cause i got my endorphins kicking!
+1 All of what Summervest said. Oddly enough, while I have been able to get to sleep easier because of this, it has also allowed me to stay up much later if needed without being under “certain influences”.
Also, if you want to start making yourself go to bed early, turn off all sources of bright light in your house an hour before you want to go to bed. This includes TVs and computer monitors. Having light present tells your brain that it still needs to remain active. If you remove the light earlier in the night and reintroduce it earlier in the morning, you can change your “sleep timer” in your brain. There are many good programs about this on the Discovery and Science channel, but I don’t remember what they were called.
OT - my personal quit smoking program was nicknamed “Packs for Tracks”. It also included the pill and patches, but was mostly a mental game. Instead of spending 6 bucks fa day for a pack, I can now buy an extra .wav track on top of what I normally would, and still put nearly $100 a month away for new gear, just on the money saved from not smoking. Turning my real obsession into a means to get rid of a nasty and expensive habit.
yea, I dont smoke. I try to hit the gym for at least an hour 3 days a week. I do love me some caffein and ever since I started taking melatonin (3+yrs now) I dont have trouble falling or staying asleep.
Its a double edged sword. Either get some sleep, join the rest of the world and not spend enough time on my passions. Or… be a walking zombie in a state of mind that is unhealthy for me and others around me. (queue violin music)
If I were smart enough I’d find a way to literlly make it impossible (or VERY inconveinient) to have the net and certain electrical outlets active at certain times of the night
