by Paula Love

Created on: November 20, 2009

Writing is a cerebral activity. It may flow more naturally for some than it does for others, but even those who do not have to work as hard for a quality finished product will experience diminished capabilities when writing while tired.

One area of the brain that is impacted by sleep deprivation is the temporal lobe. The temporal lobe is the language center of the brain. When a person is excessively sleepy, the temporal lobe ceases activity.

But if the language center of the brain in effect shuts down during these times, why are we still able to speak? The brain is able to draw from other areas to make up for the loss of activity in the temporal lobe. However these areas of the brain are not normally utilized for such tasks, therefore they won't be as adept in carrying them out. It is similar to using your non-dominant hand to write; it can be done but it will be sloppy.

The area of the brain that is hit the hardest by sleep deprivation is the frontal lobe. The frontal lobe is associated with verbal communication, which explains why sleepy people will often exhibit slurred speech. Most importantly for lingual artists, our creative processes come from the frontal lobe.

When we are sleepy our language center is inactive, our brain is using less capable areas to compensate for it, and our creative core is impaired. If we attempt to write in this condition, our ideas will be unoriginal and our word choices will be stale. We are also more prone to making simple spelling or grammatical errors and overlooking them during the proofreading and editing process. It is easy to understand why we should not attempt to write in this condition.

Most writers understand that not everything they construct will be a work of brilliance, but serious writers know that working in less than optimal conditions will significantly decrease the chance of producing something worthwhile. You are the foundation of your work. If you begin writing with a deficiency such as sleep deprivation, it will be impossible to create a piece that accurately reflects your potential.

Sleep is not only important in order to rest the body, but also to regenerate neurons in the brain. Resting without sleeping can help the body, but neuron regeneration only happens in certain stages of sleep. No amount of caffeine, jumping jacks, or cold water will be able to regenerate the neurons needed for optimal brain function, so your best bet is to take a short nap before engaging in the creative process. Not only will the essential neurons be restored within the first stages of sleep, but you may also gain some interesting insight or encounter a fantastic idea within a dream.

So what are you waiting for? Go take that power nap and then show us what you've got!

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