When making larger pieces staying focused and preventing stress can become a great challenge. Yet, there are ways to keep you motivated and to allow you to really appreciate your craft. In this list I will be explaining a multitude of ways to keep an artist impelled to make their art, along with the studies that prove they are valid.
One: Listening to Music
This being the most common method for artist to stay focused, music can be a great way to stay concentrated. A study done by John Hopkins University, music creates a positive learning/working atmosphere, changes brain waves, and even develops rapport. Music being something that almost all people take pleasure in, from young to old, is a great tool for staying attentive and can release build up tension when stressed. After a long day of working on this sculpture or painting that just wasn’t turning out the way you wanted it to, being able to basically melt into your headphone is a great way to end it.
Two: Stay hydrated
Drinking lots of fluids, healthy drinks, can prevent your muscles from tiring and can prevent headaches. As stated in the article, ” Hydration and Muscular Performance” by Sports Medicine, hydration “attenuate strength (by ≈2%), power (by ≈3%) and high-intensity endurance (by ∼10%)”(Hydration and Muscular Performance). Furthermore in an article written by the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, it reveals how headaches and migraines can be the result of dehydration. Having a headache and trying to stay focused on your piece can leave you agitated and angered. Drinking drinks such as tea and green drinks can be a healthy alternative to coffee and energy drinks, since they both offer natural caffeine, providing you enough support to push through those final strokes,edges, and details.
Three: “Let’s take a break”
Even the most determined artist can not work 24 hours a day everyday. As we are all human and not robots we need to have period of time where we can relax our mind, our bodies, and even to a point our souls. According to the Guinness World Record the longest anyone has stayed awake was 280 hours, and this high school student, after 2.5 days deprived of sleep he stopped feeling sensations such as taste or touch. That being said sleep is an important. So don’t skip out on sleep! You need it to keep your creative mind happy! 🙂 
So that’s all I have for this very short but hopefully very eye opening blog post. All the studies and articles I used for this blog post are doing below in the form of links, so please check them out and give the authors some love!
Art Anchor 