Posts tagged ‘naps’

Sep 19

Practice strategies of super elite performers: Sleep your way to creativity

I’ve learned that taking a break from the computer and “sleeping on” my writing often reveals breakthroughs — a solution to a problem or a story idea. And often this inspiration happens right after I lie down when my brain is buzzing from a writing session.

But I recently found that sleep is more important to the creative process than I realized.

Christine Carter, Ph.D, a sociologist and happiness expert at UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center, writes on her blog about elite performers and how they become successful. “People who go to the top of their fields don’t just practice deliberately and persistently, they also rest strategically,” she says.

It’s well known that most people need seven to eight hours of sleep a night. But Americans average only 6.5 hours of sleep per night, Carter says. She’s written about characteristics of elite performers and says super high achievers clock in more sleep time than average. Elite performers tend to get 8.6 hours of sleep a night and high performing athletes even more. Read more

May 25

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Improve your writing by resting

To use a cliche, I tend to burn the candles at both ends. I work hard and I play hard. This leads to an exciting, fast-paced life but, lately, I’ve been craving down time. So I’m taking some–in bits and pieces. Because it’s hard for me to take time off, I’ve decided to schedule some into my calendar in the hopes it will become a habit.

When I get enough rest I’m more productive and creative, ideas flow, and I look forward to writing each day. In a previous post, “Nap Your Way to Health & Creativity,” I discuss the benefits of a short daily nap to re-charge our batteries.

Here are two other blog posts that discuss the benefits of taking time off:

From Jeff Goins’ blog, an excellent article by Carol Tice, “How to Improve Your Writing in One Counter-Intuitive Way.”

From Jane Fritz’s blog a very informative article explaining how resting is really part of training, “Good News: How Resting is Really Training.” As artists, we can take this concept into our writing.