How Lack of Sleep Affects Your Writing Productivity
You might have heard of how sleep deprivation affects alertness and focus. But how exactly does it hurt your writing productivity? Find out in this post
You’ve tried everything to boost your writing productivity: Block out the time your writing, clear up distractions, tidy up your workspace, do your research, etc. But every time you sit behind the writing desk, the writer’s block kicks in. Your head gets clogged up. Your mind goes empty. Your fingers feel numb on the keyboard.
When the external environment is set up to perfection but you still get blocked, it’s time to look internally for what’s wrong. There is one major cause of writing inefficiency that you may not be aware of:
Lack of sleep.
You might have heard of how sleep deprivation affects your alertness and concentration. But how exactly does it hurt your productivity and writing process? What consequences might it have on your creative flows? And what to do if you’re sleep deprived? By the end of this blog post, you will have answers to all of these questions. But first, let’s consider the importance of sleep in your life in general.
What goods sleep brings to you
Sleep is the time when your body recovers and refills its battery. Getting enough sleep is essential for you to feel energized and alert the next day.
When you sleep, your body is at rest but your brain is busy processing data and creating memory links. This is how you can absorb and retain new information.
A good night's sleep also helps to prevent depression. Serotonin — a hormone associated with ‘good mood’ is created while you’re asleep. When you get enough sleep, more serotonin will be produced, making you feel pumped up in the morning.
How lack of sleep hurts your writing productivity
1. Reduce your endurance
Studies have pointed out sleep-deprived individuals tend to miss out on the ‘deep sleep’ stage — the stage during which your body muscles and tissues are restored. As a consequence, they’ll experience muscle aches and body exhaustion the following day.
Sleep deprivation also results in various health problems such as heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and obesity. Such physical conditions can take a heavy toll on your writing productivity. With a weary body, it’s very unlikely you will come up with creative ideas or maintain concentration throughout the writing practice.
Writing is like running a marathon. Writing a 2000-word article can quickly drain your energy tank if you lack resilience. To avoid running out of steam on lengthy writing assignments, you need to maintain in a good shape. And the best way to do so is to get enough sleep.
2. Lower your mood
According to research, people who sleep for only 4.5 hours per night are more subjected to anger, stress, sadness, and mental exhaustion. When hit by these negative emotions, you tend to procrastinate on what you set out to do.
The thing is if you suffer from insomnia, these mood swings will occur more frequently. Missing one or two deadlines won’t make such a huge impact, but consistently putting off writing due to ‘bad mood’ can deeply affect your writing career.
Even if you’re a strictly disciplined soul who writes rain or sunshine, mood swings can still affect your writing output. In times of emotional breakdown, you’ll find it harder to maintain concentration, organize, and express your thoughts clearly.
3. Damage your memory and cognitive functions
There are three stages to gain new knowledge: acquisition, consolidation, and recall. While the ‘acquisition’ and ‘recall’ processes happen during your awake hours, consolidation takes place in your sleep.
It’s during the ‘consolidation’ stage that memory links are created to deepen your impression of the knowledge you acquire. Those who deprive of sleep don’t often go through the consolidation stage and suffer from memory loss as a result.
Sleep deprivation also diminishes your concentrating power, making you prone to mistakes. According to a study from Michigan State University, sleep loss is one of the top causes of human errors. As pointed out by Kimberly Fenn, author of the study, nearly one-quarter of people with procedure-heavy jobs (e.g. drivers, workers at nuclear plants, surgeons) dozed off while working due to lack of sleep, which resulted in catastrophic consequences.
For a writer, the ability to retain information and keep their head straight while working is extremely important.
How to get enough sleep to maximize your productivity
1. Sleep between 6 and 9 hours per day
Your sleep is made up of sleeping cycles, each lasting for 1.5 hours. According to research, to get a good night’s sleep, you need to complete between 4 and 6 sleeping cycles (from 6–9 hours). Any less or more than that will subject you to tiredness and mental exhaustion the next day.
2. Follow your internal body clock
There’s lots of rap about the benefits of waking up early. But science has proved that rising early has little to do with your productivity levels.
The key to being productive during the day is to follow your internal body clock. The internal body clock determines which time you should go to bed and wake up. In other words, it decides whether you’re an early bird or a night owl. If you’re a night owl, forcing yourself to write in the morning won’t do the trick. You won’t be as productive at writing as you will be at night.
So respect your internal body clock, find the time that works best for you, and arrange your writing routine during those hours. You’ll find your writing productivity ramps up to the roof.
3. Create a night routine
Another factor influencing the quality of your sleep is your night routine. You may sleep and wake up at the right time according to your internal body clock, but if your night routine isn’t perfectly set up, you still can’t get quality sleep. You might end up tossing around your bed for hours on end and getting upset the next morning.
A good night routine usually involves limited interaction with digital devices one hour before bed. I know it’s hard to resist the temptation to use your phone before sleep. But you have to work around it if you want to have quality sleep. Instead of resorting to digital devices for relaxation, try reading a book, meditating, or listening to music.
