Get Some Sleep

“It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for He gives to His beloved sleep.”
~ Psalm 127:2

Sleep. We all need it, yet 1/3 of all adults sleep less than six hours per night when studies show we all need 7-9 hours per night. Unfortunately, I fall into the category of less than six hours of sleep per night… actually, six hours of straight sleep sounds like a dream because I usually get 3-4 hours of sleep. There’s a few reasons why I don’t sleep. The main one is pain. I am in an immense amount of pain all of the time but when sleeping, laying in one position for too long causes me to wake up. I also have furbabies who need to go out, and once they wake me up, I’m up for good. Another problem is light. As soon as it’s light outside, I’m awake. I remember the days when I could sleep. It was long ago and far away, but I do remember what it feels like to sleep and I often daydream about. To shut my eyes and drift off…

What is wrong with us? Why do so many of us fail to get enough rest when clearly, the Lord designed our bodies to need sleep? According to studies, caffeine is one of the biggest culprits. We love our coffee and we drink a staggering amount – 12 million pounds per year! That averages out to about six cups per person per day. Considering it takes approximately 3 hours for each cup of caffeine to wear off, we are probably still on a coffee high at bedtime, even if we don’t feel the jittery effects. Another culprit of sleepus interuptess is snoring. Not only does it affect the partner of the snoring sleeper, it causes the snorer to lose sleep. Snoring can deprive the brain of oxygen, which in turn causes the snorer to feel tired the next day. And then we have other problems, like changing schedules, stress, nightmares, children, pets, sirens, neighbors, traffic, etc. that all interferes with sleep. No wonder we feel like we need a nap! And to top it off, lack of sleep has some nasty side-effects:
• Sleepiness Causes Accidents. ...
• Sleep Loss Dumbs You Down. ...
• Sleep Deprivation Can Lead to Serious Health Problems. ...
• Lack of Sleep Kills Sex Drive. ...
• Sleepiness Is Depressing. ...
• Lack of Sleep Ages Your Skin. ...
• Sleepiness Makes You Forgetful… To name a few!

We weren’t created to go without rest. It’s essential to our health, physically and mentally. God rested on the seventh day. He created the heavens and earth, and separated day from night (Genesis 1:5). “So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from His (Hebrews 4:9-10).”

While I have yet to figure out how to get a good night’s sleep, I do know that during those sleepless nights, I have the opportunity to accomplish some spiritual tasks. Praying, reading Scripture, posting Bible study references on social media, are all good places to start. I suppose I could stop drinking coffee but…