How many times in the past month have we said, “I sure didn’t sleep good last night.” Or, worse, we may have said, “I didn’t sleep a wink!” All of these are forms of insomnia.
I always thought insomnia was the inability to sleep. The Mayo Clinic says that “Insomnia is a common sleep disorder that can make it hard to fall asleep or stay asleep. It also can cause you to wake up too early and not be able to get back to sleep. You may still feel tired when you wake up…Insomnia symptoms may include:
- Having a hard time falling asleep at night.
- Waking up during the night.
- Waking up too early.
- Feeling tired or sleepy during the day.
- Feeling cranky, depressed or anxious.
- Having a hard time paying attention, focusing on tasks or remembering.
- Making more errors or having more accidents.
- Having ongoing worries about sleep.”1
Based on these definitions, I’ve had insomnia for YEARS! Getting a full night of sleep without waking up is such a rarity for me. I guess I have nothing to complain about,
though.
- Elephant seals take several naps throughout the day. Don’t get too excited about this! Their total sleep time averages less than two hours per day.
- Elephants in the wild will get in a solid two hours straight.
- Giraffes get about 30 minutes of sleep per day.
- Newborn bottlenose dolphins don’t sleep. Yes, you read that correctly. They wait until they are mature to begin getting five to eight hours of sleep. Even then, they practice unihemispheric sleep, sleeping with one eye open and only half their brain sleeping at a time.2
Even the insomniac must sleep at some point. When we do, we can reflect on some “sleepy” verses of Scripture:
Psalms 3:5 I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the LORD sustained me.
Psalms 4:8 I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.
Psalms 127:2 It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.
Proverbs 3:24 When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet.
The joy and sweetness of sleep is enhanced when we keep Psalm 121:1-4 in mind. You’re probably reading this devotional and these scriptures in the morning hours. Reread the verses tonight just before going to bed and rejoice in the sleep the Lord grants.
Psalms 121:1-4 I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. (2) My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth. (3) He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. (4) Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
1https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/insomnia/symptoms-causes/syc-20355167
2https://interestingfacts.com/animals-that-barely-sleep/?lctg=e6fd7449-4b4d-4d27-9340-7ad6e03075f2
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