Let’s stick with the ending topic from yesterday’s devotional and use it for today. It’s the topic of sleep – and I’m not talking about the nap some might take this morning while the preacher preaches! Here are some surprising facts about sleep.
Did you realize that we spend about 1/3 of our lives sleeping? That shouldn’t come as a surprise since we are supposed to get 8 hours of sleep each night. Some will argue that they haven’t had a solid 8 hours of sleep in years. However, during your early years and as you get older, there’s a lot of sleep going on. Dad wouldn’t often say, “I didn’t sleep all night.” However, he slept a large portion of the day away because that’s how the Parkinson’s acted in his body.
Another surprising fact is that 15% of us sleepwalk. That percentage is higher than I would have thought. Sleep talking has happened to about 65% of us while somewhere between 3-30% report doing it on a regular basis. Actually, that reporting must come from the spouse who is kept awake with your talking.1
During the night, we have four to six dreams. Within five minutes of waking up, 95% of us won’t remember the dream.2 And 11% of us don’t dream in color. There’s a black and white screen set up in the viewing room of our mind.
Here’s another nocturnal nugget that you can really sink your teeth into. The more you sleep can help you lose weight. It only makes sense. Sleep keeps you away from the table. But if you sleepwalk, you might sleep eat which would defeat the purpose. If you dreamt of eating, no worries. You will have forgotten it five minutes after you woke up!
The bottom line is that sleeping well is good for your health.3 So is napping. I know that there are some adults that almost seem proud of themselves because they never take a nap. Let me tell you – you are missing out! My wife and I look forward to our Sunday afternoon nap! We eat lunch, watch something short on television, and then it’s nappy time! Don’t knock it till you try it!
From a medical perspective, getting a 15-30 minute nap can help improve your focus, revitalize your energy, and help with your memory. It’s also a great mood booster.4 Who am I to argue with Cleveland Clinic?!? That which we fought as children was actually good for us!
God made our bodies to need sleep and rest. This is not the same as slothful, sluggardly laziness seen in Proverbs 20:13 that tells us to “Love not sleep, lest thou come to poverty; open thine eyes, and thou shalt be satisfied with bread.” Instead, this is what our body was made to need, a time everyday to experience the peaceful rest of sleep and to awaken with a renewed energy to do the work God has given us to do.
Psalms 4: 8 says, “I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.” Psalms 127:2 reminds us, “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.” And Proverbs 3:24 says, “When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet.”
One of the greatest blessings after a long day is the joy of putting head to pillow and allowing the sleep to wash over our bodies, cleansing and quieting our minds, so that God can heal our body, mind, and spirit. While we sleep and shut off all that has happened in a day, we can take refuge in knowing that our God never sleeps. His watchful care is given to us around the clock.
“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.” (Psalms 121:1-4)
1https://www.popsci.com/health/why-do-people-sleep-talk/
2https://www.mattressclarity.com/sleep-resources/facts-about-dreams/
3https://www.oddee.com/story/craziest-facts-about-sleep-youll-want-to-know/
4https://health.clevelandclinic.org/napping
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