by Gordon Hamilton

Created on: March 03, 2009

Insomnia is an unenviable condition which has a cause. The cause of insomnia is most likely to be our dwelling upon something negative which is happening in our lives at the moment. This can cause worry, stress and ultimately the sleeplessness which defines insomnia.

Creativity is a human process which requires us to be at our best both mentally and physically to optimise. If we are worried, stressed or tired through too little sleep, we are extremely unlikely to be at our creative best. Any work which we do produce at these times is likely to be of a standard far below that of which we are capable and likely to require extensive revision at best at a later time.

So is there any way in which we can use insomnia to benefit our creativity, even as we tackle the problem to eliminate it? I am a great believer in the maxim that anything and everything should be viewed as an experience from which we can learn and subsequently create. Although we as writers are unlikely to produce our best text at times when we are suffering from insomnia, this need not preclude our coming up with ideas for projects to be expanded upon at a more suitable time.

The obvious subject for us to write about is the insomnia itself. We could start a journal or blog, detailing our symptoms and what we believe the causes to be. We can write about how we are feeling and what we are doing to combat the problem. In this way, we can come back to review our journal or blog at a later time and find fresh information for writing such as an authoritative article on the causes and symptoms of insomnia. It is said that experience is both the best teacher and the best position from which to produce authoritative writing.

We can also read while we should be sleeping. Reading books, magazines and newspapers can be a fantastic way of coming up with ideas for subjects upon which to write. I am obviously not talking about plagiarism here, merely reading about such as current events, true life stories, places to which we have never been and thinking about how we can use the information we so acquire. I wrote one of my most successful articles to date after reading a letter to the editor in a Sunday newspaper!

Insomnia can perhaps therefore be seen to hinder creativity but not present an insurmountable barrier to same. Make every effort to cure the insomnia from which you may be suffering but do not let the frustrating time go entirely to waste.

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