Working late into the night with only the laptop glare to keep you company? Partying into the early hours with friends? Young children screaming for night feeds? Or maybe you’re in the world of festivals like us working late into the evening to ensure a spectacle is ready for the public gaze?
Whatever your evening routine usually looks like, it’s important to remember that a good night’s sleep isn’t just ‘time out’ from a busy schedule but is in fact vital for our bodies to reset brain reactivity and consolidate our memories. It’s the down time required for us to be able to physically and mentally recuperate, process information and effectively deal with any emotional challenges in store for us the following day.
It is said that we sleep 90 minutes less a night than we did in the 1920’s due to the additional pressures and fast-paced lifestyles that consume our days – we imagine those working in the live events sector get even less time to snooze. With relentless summer festival schedules for crew members, or roadies on tour for 18 months working unsociable hours, it is important for event professionals in particular to recognise the indisputable link between sleep and the part it plays in maintaining our mental wellbeing.
It has been well documented that sleep deprivation physically causes an elevation in blood pressure, stress hormones, increased chances of heart attacks and strokes plus immune damage – but what about the unseen mental impact?
Ongoing lack of sleep or inconsistent sleep cycles can play a huge role in the development or stimulation of mental health disorders like depression, anxiety, Bi-Polar disorder, ADHD and in turn increases the potential severity of insomnia.
There are certain tweaks to a night-time routine that can make an immediate positive impact on the quality of your slumber which are easy to implement. Avoid long-term disruption to your normal routine such as shift work, don’t consume caffeine or alcohol before bedtime, establish a regular routine that signals a winddown time to the brain, exercise daily and try to schedule it at least three hours before bedtime and ensure your bed is solely associated with sleep – no working in bed or your mind will never be able to switch off!
Here at Caboose & Co, we understand that poor quality sleep quickly has a knock-on impact on mood fluctuations, increased irritability plus one’s ability to adapt to the smaller stresses in life, problem-solve rationally and work to the best of our ability. Recognising that working in the live events sector can be particularly challenging at times, the team is driven to provide a product that is conducive to dissipating stress through enabling the best night’s sleep possible.
It is vitally important to us to know that crew staying in our pop-up accommodation arrive on the job feeling fully rested, enabling them to meet the unpredictable demands of being on site with a can-do attitude and ability to calmly adapt when things change on a sixpence. As such, the rooms have been specifically designed with guests’ comfort as the highest priority. Under the tough shipping container exteriors hide sleeping quarters equipped with high-quality mattresses, soft linen and towels to ensure a cosy, comfortable stay. Guests have the ability to adjust the internal temperature and light levels in each room to suit their personal preference to get their perfect set-up for a good night’s kip.
With Mental Health Awareness Week running from 18th-24th May, we are passionate about championing the importance of quality sleep due to it being linked intrinsically to mental wellbeing, especially supporting the wellbeing of event professionals to enable them to operate to the best of their ability – feeling happy, refreshed and with the mental agility to be able to conquer anything that comes their way.