How can you maintain a healthy sleep schedule in the film industry?

The film or entertainment industry is a complicated aspect of the profession that makes you frustrated if you don't pay attention to your sleep time. In my opinion, every time you have a chance to rest use it to recover your body and mind periodically even on set or behind desk. On the other hand, before every big session of work and project get a good rest and empty your mind to prepare yourself for the high pressure of interactions.

Our preferred sleep-timing is something we inherited in our Chronotype. When we sleep in line with this natural sleep preference we maximise both our quality and quantity of sleep. It’s thought that our paleo ancestors were safer as a tribe if some went to sleep and woke up early ( morning larks ) and some late ( night owls ) hence these different traits were passed through the genes. Michael Breus, the sleep doctor has further researched developed the classification of these basic chronotype a free test you can take to determine what your sleep preference could be. His website is sleepdoctor.com and the test will help you work out when’s it’s best for you to sleep.

When working toward better sleep, especially when you're in an industry which demands long hours, it's important to take your bladder into account—too much caffeine, too many carbonated drinks, and/or drinking too close to bedtime can cause disruptive extra wake-ups.

L'expérience cinématographique est probablement proche de celle de la navigation en solitaire sur bien des points. Il s'agit de trouver non pas une heure de sommeil idéale mais de réussir à s'écouter et à répondre au mieux aux besoins de notre organisme. On pourrait faire référence au micro sommeil ou sommeil polyphasique qui est très connu chez les voileux. Apprendre à écouter les signaux du corps ou simplement les prémices de la fatigue permet de contrôler les étapes suivantes : endormissement et réveil au bon moment. Tout est question de timing

1. between work sessions use your small gap to take a small rest. 2. On your off days or at home, pay attention to your normal night bedtime because it is extremely important. 3. It doesn't matter where you are, make a situation to have even half an hour to rest or nap, it makes your average sleep time high which has a high effect on your performance.

Consistency improves all measures of sleep quality & quantity. Of course it’s hard to keep a regular bed & wake time 7 days a week, & even harder when working late on set, but if you cant get to bed at the same time aim to get up as close as you can to the same time 7 days a week. You’re better off napping to bank ahead or catch up on sleep than having a later wake time as this creates social jet lag (a similar affect to long haul travel) knocking your body clock out of sync. A consequence here is that our healthy gut bacteria are adversely affected too (severely if you get up more than 90 minutes later). Power naps of 20 minutes during the day are a great way to catch up on sleep, but don’t do longer which creates sleep inertia/grogginess

If I am on a set of projects that take a long period of time to end, try to find a quiet place around my work set to take a quick rest. If I am in my place or somewhere except work, it's easy just don't waste your time with your hobby if you need to sleep.

Light, noise and temperature will all affect sleep. Eye masks bad ear plugs are obvious items to take with you on set if you are sleeping on the job. However, you’d need to be using them at home too in order to get used to them as a sleep aid. If you are sleeping away from home there’s also something called first night effect to consider. This is when 1/2 our brain stays awake as we are sleeping in a strange or new environment. Using lavender as a soporific scent at home and away can help make the smells similar & familiar. Taking your own pillow with you too would make things feel more normal. If you are worried about sounds keeping you awake and you don’t like ear plugs, white noise generator or binaural beats are props you could try too

If you need sleep or are tired too much just avoid coffee or alcohol and try to take rest. every kind of stuff that makes you high to keep working, have a specific time and would be a nightmare if you try to keep them until the end of your sessions. just use coffee for the first level of your exhausting, don't keep it until the end.

Being aware of your sensitivity to caffeine is an essential part of healthy sleep hygiene. Coffee has a 1/2 life of 6 hours which means that for the average person if you drink a cup of coffee with dinner at 6pm it’s equivalent to drinking 1/2 a cup at midnight. It typically takes 10 hours for coffee to totally clear our system. Sugar should also be avoided close to bedtime as it will keep you awake. Use of tech is another stimulant to the brain. Always ensure you use nighttime filters on all tech to block the blue light which tech screens emit which would otherwise keep you awake. The over stimulation especially when scrolling on social media is something to consider too. Aim to stop all tech at least one hour before sleep, & ideally two

Try to keep fluid intake low for a couple hours prior to bedtime, and if possible, reserve coffee or tea for mornings; even caffeine-free versions can cause bathroom runs in the middle of the night if enjoyed too close to bedtime.

Aim to eat a Mediterranean diet with all the colours of the rainbow to supply all the vitamins and minerals you need. Kiwi fruit have been known to aid sleep , walnuts and montmorency ( tart cherries) which have their own natural melatonin are great for sleep too. Eating fermented or pickled food is also something to consider as the probiotics they contain help create a number of our neurotransmitters including GABA which helps us relax. Exercise especially outdoors in the morning is another great sleep aid. Even 20 minutes of walking just 3 times a week is proven to improve sleep. Getting early morning sunlight will help strengthen your body clock too.

1. drink water to keep your body hydrated 2. use your off times to rest 3. avoid stimulants when you can sleep. 4. try to have work out some hour per week to make your mind and physic prepare for hard and long work sessions.

If your bladder wakes you more than once per night, try elevating your legs above your heart for 10-15 minutes, a couple hours before heading to bed. This can help you eliminate any excess fluid from swelling in your legs before going to sleep and help limit nighttime wake-ups.