Celebrities always look perfect don’t they? Why do they not suffer from bad hair days, a runny nose, or a vomiting baby like the rest of us? Fear not, we have evidence they are human too; many of our famous favourites have opened up about an issue that affectsus all – sleep.
The importance of sleep
In today’s hectic world, sleep is often seen as something that can be compromised. Not allowing your body to rest and get the shuteye it needs can be extremely damaging for your health – celebrity or no celebrity. Health experts say that prolonged problems with sleep can cause obesity, diabetes, heart problems and psychological disorders.
Getting a good nights sleep is achievable and you can start by establishing a consistent routine, ensuring your room is completely dark and free of distractions, your extremities are warm, you hit the mattress sales and avoid both alcohol and caffeine too close to your bedtime.
Do you sleep like a celeb?
Jimmy Kimmel
With his own chat show, it is pretty important for Jimmy to pay attention to what his guests are saying. However as the star revealed to Esquire magazine, he suffers from narcolepsy, which makes it very difficult for him to stay awake during the daytime and the need to sleep could strike at anytime, including during interviews! He told the magazine “I would doze off in meetings, watching TV, even driving,” he said. “With narcolepsy, just the inside of your head is tired. It’s like somebody’s gently sitting on your brain. You have almost no focus. All you’re thinking about is not falling asleep.”
Rihanna
The sultry songstress often shares with her millions of social media followers her trouble with sleeping. If like Rihanna, you lead a very busy life where downtime is a luxury, it can be hard to switch off when the world around you slows down and goes quite. After finishing her 2011 tour, she updated her twitter status as follows “”Suddenly all the silence is being drowned by my thoughts! No sleep”. To help your mind to relax try not to interact with electronic gadgets at least an hour before bedtime, that means no checking email, online shopping or updating your Facebook status!
George Clooney
Many of us have TVs in the bedroom and like George we rely on it to help us fall asleep. Our favourite ER doctor told the Hollywood Reporter he can tune out the glow of the TV but he needs to have it on. What George may not realise is that it is probably the TV that disrupts his sleep since he also revealed that he wakes up a lot during the night. Our sleep patters are very sensitive; therefore slight changes in volume can arouse us from our slumber and make it difficult to stay asleep.
Lady Gaga
Gaga is clearly passionate about what she does, but her love of her art has kept her from sleeping. She confessed to OK magazine that she has gone without 72 hours of sleep before because she has been too excited, instead she combats her overactive mind by lying in bed, praying and remembering to breathe. Sleep deprivation can have disastrous consequences, whether you stay awake intentionally or not, for continuous days or blocks of hours our bodies will suffer. Amongst the most worrying side effects is a decrease in reaction times, making daily activities such as driving very dangerous.
Sandra Bullock
As a new mum Sandra was insistent that she would be there for her son Louis, even if that meant getting only three hours asleep. The Oscar winning actress told now magazine “I don’t want anyone else to have the pleasure of changing [his] diapers but me, There is nothing hard about loving Louis.” Sandra may not realise that a lack of sleep increases ones chances of making mistakes, possibly even putting her son in harms way. To make sure you are in the best health to look after your little ones, it’s really important you get a good amount of sleep to keep you fresh and alert.
If you notice any similarities between how your favourite celebrity sleeps and how you do, perhaps you should look at revising your sleeping habits – after all, we’re not all lucky enough to have a makeup artist to hide the bags under our eyes!