On the way to church a mother told her children they would need to be quiet during the service. “And why should we be quiet in church?” she asked.
Her son replied, “Because people are sleeping.”
That may be true because statistics show they aren’t sleeping at home. In fact they aren’t sleeping much at all. In this 24/7 world, people are so eager to work and play, they find little time for sleep. The results are problems, frustrations, anger, and stress. Even many driving accidents can be linked to driver fatigue. All can be linked to sleep deprivation.
Not only does lack of sleep make people testy and accident prone, it makes them vulnerable to disease and infection. The human immune system breaks down. Hormones and metabolism become unbalanced. Studies show an increase in high blood pressure, obesity, alcoholism, depression, heart attacks, memory loss, and diabetes. In addition, poor sleep habits create mistakes and miscalculations. It affects concentration and coordination.
Years ago the standard amount of sleep per night was 9 hours. People once read by candlelight or went to sleep when it got dark. Today it never has to get dark. With the invention of electricity and the light bulb people can have activity all night long. Video games, television, and computers provide us with scads of late night options. Grocery stores are open all night long. Telephone service is available all night long. Some people work all night long. We also have easy transportation. It used to take days to get across country. Cars, planes, and trains run all night long. It is comforting to know 80% of U.S. pilots report they illegally nod off in the air.
Liza Minelli used to sing, “I want to wake up in a city that never sleeps,” referring to New York. Well, that can refer to just about any city in the U.S. now. And if you really don’t want to sleep you can drink coffee, guzzle diet cola, take no-doze, or bathe in a caffeinated soap called Shower Shock. No, I didn’t make that up. Sleeping Beauty and Rip Van Winkle wouldn’t have even gotten a good nap if they lived today.
Sleep is not without its drawbacks. Remember, it was while Adam was sleeping that God took his rib and made woman but that is the exception not the rule. Generally speaking, we need sleep – and lots of it. Experts agree that people need at least 7 to 8 hours sleep a night. Some feel it should be more. Our ancestors may have been right – around 9 hours might be best. Just because people have trained themselves to get by on less sleep doesn’t mean they are functioning at their optimum level.
Educational organizations like the National Sleep Foundation can give people pointers on how to get more sleep but until people really buy into the idea of more sleep being necessary, nothing will change. Our bodies need to shut down and rest. It’s therapeutic, healing, and replenishing. In fact old sayings like “The best bridge between despair and hope is a good night’s sleep” and “a good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor’s book” seem to be rooted in truth.
The Bible says, “I will lay me down in peace to sleep” for God makes me dwell in safety. It’s nice to know that our loving God who watches over us never slumbers and never sleeps. (Psalm 120:4) As for the rest of us, we better get our zzzzzzzs!
