Many people, especially the youth, find creativity and artistic pursuits to be inspiring and very attractive; so much so that many people tend to stay up all night in order to pursue their art. Yet, why do so many of these people and especially professional artists tend to sleep later than usual? The answer is not simple, but there are a lot of factors that can help explain why artists tend to have a later sleep cycle than others.
The Hectic Lifestyle of Artists
The lifestyle of a professional artist is often one of chaos, rush and chaos. Since time is often of the essence for many types of artistic projects, it often means that artists are always under a great degree of pressure in order to finish the project, which often results in losing sleep and staying up late.
Moreover, many artists tend to be quite independent and determined throughout their artistic journey, where they may often carve a unique and unfamiliar path, which results in them often being overwhelmed or anxious, especially in order to achieve their desired results. As a result, staying up and having a restless night in order to finish their work often times seems necessary for artists.
The Artistic Nature of Artists
Unlike most professions where there is typically a set routine and structure, artistry and creativity is all about pushing boundaries and coming up with something new and innovative. As a result, there is no strict working hours or rules in terms of what needs to be done and when. Furthermore, creating art is often a personal journey and it requires focus, understanding and exploration into oneself, which could often times span into the late hours of the night.
This is due to creativity often comes in waves and it cannot be forced or controlled, thus creating an ideal environment to work on artistic projects during the night-time.
The Fear of Missing Out
It is a well known fact that some of the better ideas often come to an individual during the moments when they are off guard, often times during restful sleep. As a result, many artists are afraid of missing out on the potential of the creative flow escaping their minds the moment they go to sleep, so they often stay up late in order to maintain the creative juices actively flowing even during their sleep.
The human mind is a powerful machine, and for an artist, the possibilities of being able to maintain the creative flow even during their sleep is an attractive proposition.
Anxiety and Stress Within Artists
A professional artist’s work is highly subjective and each individual has a varying degree of perfectionism and expectation for their work. As a result, the lack of certainty in terms of the how their work will be received by the public and the uncertainty of a payment often leads to a great degree of stress and anxiety, which in turn prevents artists from going to sleep and staying up late due to their mental state. Add in the external pressure of deadlines to push out content and the overall stress level can become unmanageable, resulting in a later bedtime.
The Inspirational Moment
It is often said that some of the best moments of inspiration come during the late hours of the night. Many artists find that late night musings and creative ideas tend to flow more freely and have more depth. This could be attributed to the lack of sunlight and the lack of other competing distractions, allowing the artist to focus more on the task at hand and deliver quality work.
As a result, artists often prefer to stay up late in order to take advantage of the inspirational moments that come during the wee hours of the night.
Lack of Financial Stability
Being an artist is open to risk in terms of financial stability, since it is not always guaranteed that you will receive payment for the work you produce. Thus, many artists often need their late night pursuits to generate additional or side income in order to maintain financial stability.
This often means that artists must stay up late in order to finish tasks that may help reduce their financial risk, such as writing articles or taking up freelance web design jobs.
The Social Obligations of an Artist
Professional artists often times receive invitations to exhibitions, conferences, festivals, networking events and so many other social activities that often result in them staying up late. In addition, many artists often find themselves in the position to promote their work, meaning that they have to attend events in order to introduce their work to potential clients or simply for promotion purposes.
As a result, this often means that the artist will have to stay up late in order to attend these events or run other errands in order to promote their work.
Latenight Binging and Socializing
Given the creative nature of many artists, it is not uncommon for them to feel isolated or isolated from others, often resulting in them turning to social media or other outlets such as Netflix in order to seek comfort or solace. Naturally this often leads to them having a late night binging routine that prevents them from getting enough sleep or having a healthy sleep cycle overall.
The Need To Balance Life and Art
While art is an important part of ones life, it is also necessary to have a balance between work and leisure activities, as well as making sure that we do not overwork ourselves. This can be difficult to achieve considering the deadlines and other obligations that we as artists must follow, but it is important that we prioritize and make sure to keep our health and well-being in check.
As a result, this often leads to us sleeping late in order to finish tasks before the deadlines, or just staying up and out of balance overall.
The Need of the Digital Presence in Art
One of the main reasons why artists sleep late is due to the need for a digital presence in their work. With the rise of social media and technology, the art world has become a much more competitive one and the need for a digital presence is necessary in order to help promote and advertise their work.
This includes platforms such as Instagram, YouTube and Twitter, in which the artist must constantly stay updating and interacting on their channels in order to maintain a digital presence.
Conclusion
In conclusion, there are a variety of reasons why artists sleep late, from hectic lifestyles, to the anxiety of missing out, to the need for digital presence. All of these reasons often results in the artist staying up late in order to maintain a creative work, socialize or balance the obligations of the art world. As such, it is important for the artist to make sure to still have an adequate amount of rest in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle.