Are You Getting Enough Sleep?

Another late rehearsal, tech week coming up followed by a week of performances. Or maybe you are singing another gig at the local club. Either way, the singer’s peak performance time is in the evening. You get home late and need time to unwind, so you aren’t getting to bed until the wee hours of the morning.  The next day you have to get up early to make it to work for your other job or maybe an appointment or an audition...  Whatever your particular situation may be, if this schedule sounds familiar it may well be you are not getting enough sleep.  Though we can do this for a short period of time a consistent sleep deficit will eventually lead to serious consequences to the health of your mind and body.

How much sleep should you be getting?  With a wealth of research on the subject, The National Sleep Foundation recommends that adults should be sleeping 7-9 hours every day. This is a personal thing, so just saying getting 7 hours for the sake of an extra two when you really need 9 hours of sleep won’t cut it.  See how you feel after a night’s sleep of different lengths.

Some things to assess are:

• Do you feel energized or groggy?
• Do you need caffeine or other stimulant to get you through the day?
• Do you feel drowsy while driving?
• Are you overweight?
• Are you experiencing sleep problems?
• Are you productive at work?

Just like exercise and diet, sleep is critical to your overall health. And just like exercise and diet, sleep needs to be a priority. You need to plan and schedule it, don’t stay up to complete everything on your to do list, your health is more important. Here are some tips to getting a better night's sleep:

• Stick to a regular sleep schedule, even on weekends.
• Exercise daily.
• Have a relaxing bedtime ritual (bath, generally getting ready for bed, reading, listening to some soothing music – whatever works for you)
• Make sure your environment is comfortable (mattress, pillow, temperature, lighting, etc.)
• Avoid alcohol, caffeine, big meals or other stimulants.
• Turn off electronics before going to bed.

Still, for some of us, our schedules become irregular, especially if long distance travel is concerned (traveling will be the subject of a future article). For an irregular schedule, aside from sticking to a regular sleep schedule, all the tips above should be adhered to.  In addition, assuming you will have a late night followed by having to go out the next morning:

• After the performance, avoid the late night drinks with the other performers.
• At home start your bedtime ritual right a way, this will be your wind down time.
• Try to arrange a later start time at work for those days that you perform or have a late rehearsal.  Many employers nowadays are more flexible with their hours. 
• If you are feeling sleepy at work and not performing your best, try to get in a short nap. It can leave you feeling refreshed and re-energized. But no more than 30 minutes, otherwise you may end up feeling groggy and unproductive. If you made it through your workday, you may want to take a short nap before you head out to your gig.

If you do continue to experience sleep disturbances or other problems on a regular basis, make sure you go to see your physician about it.

Sleep is such an important time for our minds and bodies to heal, to flush away toxins, to clear our minds, to rebuild.  As singers who need to be alert to all that’s going on around us and within us during a performance, we really cannot afford to be skimping on sleep, so find a way to prioritize it and make sure you are getting enough!

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