I’m sure you’ve heard that not getting enough sleep is dangerous to your health, your relationships, your weight, everything.
I mean, if I could get more sleep, I would – but the demands of life only allow us so many hours.
Fortunately, there is one good thing about being tired: We are at our most creative when we are sleepy!
A study done recently on 428 college students tested their creative thinking abilities at night and in the morning and made a very interesting discovery: night owls are most creative in the morning and morning people are most creative at night.
The researchers ended up recommending that the students schedule art and creative writing classes during their non-optimal waking hours.
Why do I like this study? Well, I often find myself having to tackle a project at what I would certainly call a “non-optimal” time. As a freelancer, I get a lot of flexibility about when I do things, but equally the time slots available to accomplish my projects are at the mercy of family obligations and other activities that have to be worked around.
But my favorite thing about the findings in this study is that I don thave to feel like I’m not doing my best work, even if I’m sleepy. I might not feel great when I’m doing it, but the project will not suffer from my tiredness, it might even benefit.
So at times when I’m working and would rather be taking a nap, I’m going to try to remember that I’m at my most creative before I have that extra cup of coffee.
Wendy Stackhouse, Consultant for Artisan Creative