[Artist Yuta Okuda] Sleep is the most important thing! What are his unique conditioning techniques for maintaining performance?

How do professionals who continue to challenge themselves in various fields such as sports, business, art, and culture approach their bodies and unleash their potential? We ask about the "conditioning" they practice in their lifestyles.

This time, our guest is Yuta Okuda, a painter and artist. We explore his lifestyle filled with personal preferences and the conditioning techniques he has developed from it.

*Conditioning, as defined by TENTIAL, is the act of optimizing all factors related to one's physical condition to improve life performance.

About Conditioning

── Mr. Okuda, how conscious are you about conditioning in your daily life?

I work as an artist painting pictures. Sometimes I provide artwork in the form of collaborations with fashion brands and companies, but my main activity is basically creating works and holding solo exhibitions. As part of my activities, I travel overseas very frequently, going somewhere almost every month.

In such a situation, what I value most is sleep... especially sleep on airplanes. Generally, when people think of artists, they imagine someone who is careless about sleep or doesn't sleep much in the first place. There are indeed artists like that, but there's another pattern - those who are very neurotic and sensitive. Most artists fall into one of these two types. I'm completely the latter. I really value my neurotic side, and I have several rules of my own when it comes to sleeping. I can't sleep without them. During overseas business trips, these rules often get disrupted, which is really tough (laughs).

── What kind of rules do you have, for example?

I'm very neurotic when it comes to sleeping. For instance, I can't sleep without a belly warmer, and I need earplugs and an eye mask because the light bothers me. I can't sleep unless the room is completely dark, and I wake up immediately at the slightest sound. Bedding is also important, of course. Even now, I'm constantly searching for a pillow that suits me. That's how neurotic I get about sleeping. I'm also sensitive to smells, so I sometimes add a little fragrance to my pillow and use a futon dryer for just 5 minutes before bed to get the bedding in a comfortable state before getting in. I don't sleep for long periods, but I want to rest properly while I'm sleeping.

── Are there other things you pay attention to besides sleep?

Actually, I have an autonomic nervous system disorder called irritable bowel syndrome. Surprisingly many people suffer from it, but mine is severe. I also have overactive bladder, so I need to go to the bathroom as soon as even a little water accumulates. That's why it's difficult for me to watch a movie all the way through. Doctors tell me "don't worry about it," but it's not that easy, and I struggle with it. When I was young, I didn't pay much attention and ate and drank freely, but as I've gotten older, I can't do that anymore... (laughs). I'm thinking about how to understand my constitution and deal with it.

── So do you also pay attention to your diet?

Despite saying all this, I'm an extremely picky eater (laughs). I'm the type who can keep eating the same thing I like, and even when I go to a sushi restaurant, sometimes I only eat tuna. I sometimes eat the same thing for a month. I want to improve this picky eating, and for dieting purposes, I've tried eating balanced meals, going gluten-free, and various other things, but I can't keep it up. I also love meat.

── Hahahaha.

But I've started to limit alcohol. Due to the nature of my work, I have a lot of business dinners. Especially at the end of the year, I have business dinners 5 or 6 times a week. It's almost daily business dinners. During such times, I drink only the first glass, but after that I switch everything to oolong tea or water, and I gradually limit my alcohol consumption.

── Do you do any exercise?

I commute from home to my workplace by bicycle, but it's only about 10 to 15 minutes, so it's not really "aerobic exercise."

Also, having a child has improved my lifestyle habits.

Playing with my child naturally provides exercise, and my bedtime has become more regular. Originally, I was extremely nocturnal - before my child was born, I used to work until morning and wake up around noon. But now I go to bed at midnight and wake up around 6 AM. 5-6 hours of sleep is enough for me, and I want to be awake when I'm with my child, so I naturally developed a rhythm of waking up early. Thanks to my child, I think the quality of various aspects of my life, including sleep, has improved. During the COVID pandemic, it also became motivation for creating artwork.

About Artist Activities During COVID

During COVID, artists were considered "non-essential," and exhibition rescheduling and cancellations continued, making it increasingly difficult to see ahead. I was mentally cornered, and there was a period when "this is the worst" and "this is terrible" became my catchphrases at home. But when I was watching my currently pregnant wife and child, I realized it wasn't the worst at all. If I had been alone at that time, I might have become self-destructive, thinking "I don't care what happens." But when I realized there were beings who couldn't live without me, I was able to think more positively, "I can still do this, I can still do that."

From that point on, I think I was moving around more than most artists (laughs). Since I originally worked in the apparel industry, I utilized those connections and explored what I could do precisely because I was an artist, including making masks in large quantities. I borrowed galleries that couldn't invite people and streamed exhibitions there via Instagram Live, making it possible for people who wanted to buy to purchase immediately. Anyway, I thought about what I could do and just kept executing.

── It was during this time that you created the series of works themed around 'with gratitude.'

That's right. Because COVID made me realize that "things we take for granted aren't actually granted," I could be grateful for the ordinary things that are happening now. I decided to draw flowers as a means of conveying that feeling. However, since flowers each have their own "flower language," I drew abstract and colorful flowers that weren't bound by those meanings, so that viewers could feel cheerful beyond language barriers.

On the other hand, I was also concerned about the extreme decline in adult morality during COVID. The spread of self-restraint police and mask hoarding - the tendency to think only about oneself and those around them - I began to think about this with self-reflection. People aren't that strong. I understand that well about myself. At such times, I wondered who would I be most embarrassed to show my weakness to? Thinking about this led me to the 'children watching you' series, where children are staring intently. The 'with gratitude' and 'children watching you' series I created during COVID were born precisely because I had time to spend with my child.

About TENTIAL

── Could you share your impressions of using TENTIAL this time?

First, the wide size range is great. There aren't many brands that offer large sizes. I'm 182cm tall with a large build, so I had trouble finding things I could wear comfortably, but with TENTIAL I could choose a size that fits me, which was really appreciated. Also, since I was originally a fashion designer, I check materials and other details carefully, but I felt TENTIAL's quality was really high. The texture feels really good too. It's not good because "it's expensive so it's good," but because it's properly designed specifically for sleeping.

── How was the actual sleeping comfort?

It's good. I toss and turn a lot, but when there's friction in the bedding, it's hard to turn over. But this "BAKUNE" has a smooth surface, making it easy to turn over in bed. This is a really high point. The mesh and thin pile materials also feel good. TENTIAL has various other sleep items, and I heard new ones are coming out, so I'm really looking forward to them.

── Are there other items you're interested in?

As I mentioned at the beginning, an eye mask is essential when I sleep, but I couldn't find anything commercially available that felt right. But when I tried TENTIAL's eye mask earlier, it can be adjusted with Velcro, so I could wear it without any stress at all. It comes with a bag designed for portability, so it's convenient for business trips too. Due to my personality, I can't settle down unless I put everything in dedicated bags and organize them (laughs), so having a proper dedicated bag is appreciated. I can store it neatly in my suitcase, so I felt they "get it."

── Are sleep and performance closely related?

Absolutely. Artists often cut back on sleep, but cutting sleep should really be the last resort. How much you can plan ahead to avoid cutting sleep is very important. Because when you cut sleep, your performance the next day deteriorates, and those few hours you cut end up being completely wasted. To work efficiently and create good works, it's definitely better not to cut sleep. Yet why do we end up cutting sleep time? It's because our planning is poor. If you organize your schedule properly, you can secure proper sleep - I want to say this loudly (laughs).

── This is a point that creators who tend to get absorbed in their work should keep in mind.

Well, I'm conscious of this precisely because I can't do it properly myself (laughs). Especially before my child was born, I had the attitude that "my affairs are my responsibility alone." But after having a child, I started thinking "I need to live long," "I need to live more," "I need to stay healthy." The power you can exert for someone else is greater than the power you can exert for yourself. I feel the sustainability is different too. When it comes to myself, I give up easily - I tend to think "oh well." But if I think "oh well" now, my child won't be able to eat. So I think meeting my child was a really important event in my growth.

Artist Yuta Okuda

After studying fashion design in Japan and the UK, he worked as a designer for fashion brands. Yuta Okuda, who transitioned to being an artist in 2016, actively participates in solo and group exhibitions in Japan. Triggered by COVID, he realized that things he felt were ordinary were actually special events, and with the desire to "turn gratitude into artwork," he creates works themed around 'with gratitude.'