How Singers Can Get the Perfect Night’s Sleep

We’ve often mentioned how important it is for singers to sleep well. Sleep will revitalise your mind and your body.

When you sing, you use many muscles, throughout your body, not just your facial muscles, and they all need to be well-rested.

In addition, with a good night’s sleep, our memory works better, which is ideal for remembering lyrics, and we’re more calm and relaxed, which can help to combat nerves and stage fright.

You’ll also feel more energised, ready to put on a great performance.

So now we’re clear on how vital it is to get that all-important restorative sleep, let’s take a look at some tips to help you get the very best sleep night after night…

Create the Perfect Environment

Having a relaxing, comfortable bedroom can make all the difference to the quality of your sleep.

How is the temperature? You won’t sleep if you’re too hot or too cold.

Is the room completely dark? Light from streetlights or passing cars can prevent us from sleeping well.

If you’re disturbed by light from outside, you should consider blackout blinds or an eye mask.

This also works well if you don’t want to be woken up at the first light of day.

Or perhaps noise pollution is a problem.

If your neighbour slams his car door every morning at 4 am when he returns from working the night shift you might want to think about using earplugs or investing in a white noise machine.

Have a Set Bedtime

You may not have had a specific bedtime since childhood, but having a regular sleep pattern can really help you, particularly if you struggle to drop off to sleep.

When you have a routine, your body learns when it’s time to relax and unwind ready for sleep.

You’ll find getting to sleep becomes much easier when you go to bed at the same time on a regular basis.

Don’t Use Your Phone in Bed

When your mobile phone is by your bedside, it can be tempting to pick it up, just to check your emails or the weather forecast for the following day, only to then spend the next hour on Facebook or watching TikTok videos.

In addition, phones give out blue light, which fools your brain into thinking it’s morning.

To get the best night’s sleep, leave your phone outside the bedroom, and instead, read a book.

Reading is proven to be highly soporific, and you’ll soon find yourself feeling calm and sleepy.

Watch What You Eat and Drink Before Bed

If your body is digesting food, you’re less likely to be able to sleep, so try to avoid eating late.

Spicy food can also put your stomach into overdrive so for the best night’s sleep, stick to light meals before bedtime.

Caffeine is notorious for stopping us from getting to sleep, and it can stay in your system and affect your ability to sleep for many hours, so it’s wise to switch to decaffeinated drinks after noon.

Keep Hydrated, but Don’t Overdo It

When you think about it, a whole night is a long time to go without a drink and it’s no wonder we sometimes wake up feeling dehydrated.

Keep a glass of water by your bed so you can have some sips before you go to sleep, and it’s on hand should you wake up in the night feeling thirsty.

However, don’t be tempted to gulp down lots of water all at once, as that will only mean your sleep is further disturbed as you wake up needing to visit the toilet.

Don’t Lie There Tossing and Turning

When you can’t sleep, or you wake in the night and you just can’t back to sleep, it can be so frustrating.

The longer you lie there, the more annoyed you get, until you’re so infuriated there’s just no way you’re going to get back to sleep.

Don’t let your annoyance get to this stage.

If you find yourself awake, sit up, read a few pages of a book, or go and sit in another room for a little while.

This gives you a reset, and you can return to bed calmer, ready to go back to sleep.

Clear Your Mind

Do you have a busy mind? Is your brain overflowing with thoughts, ideas or worries when you’re trying to get to sleep?

This is a common problem, and a good way to deal with this is to write all your thoughts down.

Write down your ideas, get your worries out of your mind and onto paper, letting go of them for the night.

Listening to music or following a guided meditation can help to clear your mind ready for sleep.