Why Sleep Is Your Success Partner

Be a good friend to yourself.

As actors, we usually think – all things acting first – when it comes to “making it”.

However, to become a serious working actor who maintains a successful career – it’s so much more than casting opportunities, learning our sides, getting booked, acting class, being on set, walking red carpets, winning awards, and rising up in our career.

The real magic happens in our overall health – our well-being, state of being, and state of mind.  Which will always rule out any and everything acting related if we continuously put them on the back burner running on autopilot.

We tend to think that we can get by thinking and saying things like – “I’ll work out later”, “I’ll catch up on my sleep over the weekend”, “I’ll just do a cleanse later” , “If I get at least 4 – 6 hours of sleep I’m good”, or “you only live once right let’s go all out!”

While never prioritizing our well-being – we find our selves burnt out and with all good intentions, the “I wills later”, just don’t get done or until it’s almost too late.

It’s so easy to think nothing will happen to us and we can forge onward into success.  I too was misled even with my own attempts to stay healthy, eating clean 80% of the time, working out 6 days a week, and meditating every day.

I never ever thought I would find myself taking time off from acting due to my health…bananas.

The biggest culprit?  My body needed rest.

This is why I found it important to share with you all Why Sleep is Your Success Partner in life and for your acting career.  For about a year, I would post on the socials about my work out and one thing that I felt was holding me back was lack of sleep.  I’d make attempts to get in the bed earlier, even bought the book Sleep Smarter to help build the habit of getting in the bed and sleeping well.  It was a great start, but it was a little too late.

I admit though it has been challenging at times, I have become grateful for this down season.  For now thank goodness – I am getting stronger all around, starting to feel better, I’m learning life lessons and insights about self, and beginning to see the light at the end of my healing tunnel.

The biggest game-changer to make that possible?

Yeah…SLEEP.

As considered the leader of modern sleep medicine, Dr. William Dement said, “You’re not healthy unless your sleep is healthy.”{Source}

Just how beneficial is sleep for us?

Sleep for Life Success:

1. It helps repair your body, strengthens your immune system, and prevents disease.

2. Sleep improves your memory, increasing your understanding and retention

3. It keeps your heart healthy, reducing stress and lowering blood pressure

4. Sleep regulates your hormones, keeping extra weight away and slows down the aging process

5. It improves your mood, preventing depression

To gain knowledge and a more in-depth telling of just how much a lack of sleep can affect you and your health + get strategies on how to sleep better – you can check out Shawn Steven’s(author of Sleep Smarter) blog post here.

Sleep for Acting Success:

1. It helps you memorize lines faster.  Tip: Learn them before bedtime to help them stick.

2. Sleep sparks more creativity out of you for storytelling and to create your own projects

3. It improves your performance to get cast, to easily listen to your scene partner, and shine on set

4. Sleep helps you take better direction on set and take adjustments in the casting room

5. It helps you rid inflammation, boost your metabolism to stay in shape at a healthy weight

6. Sleep lowers stress to help you handle a packed full day of auditions, life, and your side job

7. It helps you to drive safely coming home from a late night on set

8. Sleep decreases the risk of depression when you’re frustrated with your career

So I have to ask whether you are blazing in your career or not – how much sleep are you getting and is it enough to the point where you are waking up feeling great, hopeful, and excited for your day?

I DO know there are exceptions like if you are new mommies and daddies, a shoot ran late and you also have an early call time the next morning – the list could go on.  So I get it, but I’m talking about when you realistically can CHOOSE to make getting 7 – 8 hours of sleep a night a priority.

Instead of feeling moody, drinking coffee and energy drinks throughout the day like they’re healthy as water, and feeling the pressure of your jam-packed day because you didn’t get enough sleep…

how about decide enough is enough – and you’d rather feel good and in charge of your day and choose to begin to build a habit of getting enough rest.

I have come to love my sleep – how I feel in the morning and how my day flows much easier from being truly rested.  I hate being tired and sluggish, and I desire to live a long healthy life full of energy.  I’m up for continuing to make the necessary changes.

I challenge you to find a way to get a good night’s rest on a regular basis and wish you a lifetime of good health, longevity, and success.

Sleep Good Tonight,

Talia