Want to Follow God? Go to Sleep
I'm fanatical about a lot of things: coffee, books, clothes, work, running—not necessarily in that order (in case my employers are reading this). But more than any of these activities, I'm fanatical about sleep. Like Brooke Shields and her Calvin Klein Jeans, nothing gets between me and sleep.
I used to think this refusal to burn the candle at both ends, even for the sake of church, work, or home, was selfish. Not anymore.
In the first year or so of our marriage, my husband and I were lassoed into chaperoning a youth lock-in at our church—you know, the Christian version of a rave except the kids play games like Duct Tape Head rather than dance all night and get high on sugar instead of Ecstasy. I learned something about myself that night (well, I learned quite a few things, but only one is pertinent to this article): I need sleep.
Eager to please both church and spouse, I tried to make it through that all-nighter. And I got so close. But by 5 a.m. (I'll spare the gory details), my husband was begging me to go home and go to bed. Feeling like a failure, I did.
I'm not sure why I thought I could (let alone why I should) make it through the whole night. Since childhood, having had barn chores most of my life since then, I've been an early riser and, consequently, an early-to-bedder. I never pulled an all-nighter in college. And although I had my share of late nights while sowing my wild oats, I've always had a natural body clock that needs closer to 9 than 8 hours of sleep, and preferably sooner rather than later.
For a long time, this kind of embarrassed me. But I'm over that embarrassment now. Way over it.
Whether you're a morning person or a late owl, when you sleep is less important than your amount and quality of sleep. Sleep is so important, in fact, that the Centers for Disease Control is increasingly monitoring U. S. sleep behaviors because the effects of sleep-deprivation on public health are so dramatic. Poor sleep patterns are linked to stress, depression, memory loss, weight gain, lower attention, increased accidents. Good sleep habits, on the other hand, are associated with longer life, weight loss, increased creativity, athletic stamina, and higher grades in school. No wonder Shakespeare called sleep "Nature's soft nurse."
We know all this, yet as a culture, many of us continue to lead sleep-deprived lives.
I was once invited to speak at a women's dorm meeting and, told I could speak on any topic, I chose sleep. Perhaps in working with college students, chief among the sleep-deprived, my perspective is skewed, but I find sleep far too low on the scale of priorities. I've even seen sleep-deprivation used as a self-punishing behavior linked to eating and other disorders.
The Seminary Gender Gap
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Christine
Bravo. Early in our marriage, my husband and I established the After Ten Oclock Rule. We discovered that many of lifes challenges seemed insurmountable at 10 PM, but in the morning, after a good nights rest, the difficulties became much more manageable. I believe Lamentations 3:22-23 has everything to do with the divine work accomplished in our lives through rest. 22 Because of the LORDs great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. 23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. By the way, I think I got roped into the teen all-nighter by the same pastor.
Christine
Bravo. Early in our marriage, my husband and I established the After Ten Oclock Rule. We discovered that many of lifes challenges seemed insurmountable at 10 PM, but in the morning, after a good nights rest, the difficulties became much more manageable. I believe Lamentations 3:22-23 has everything to do with the divine work accomplished in our lives through rest. 22 Because of the LORDs great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. 23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. By the way, I think I got roped into the teen all-nighter by the same pastor.
J Marie Booklets
I'm one of those people who need to go to sleep when my body says or else I get cranky, and then I'm not very Christian like. Good article.
KAREN SWALLOW PRIOR
Fascinating, Tim. Thanks! Based on this list, my choice to switch my major in college from Social Work to English was a wise one. :)
KAREN SWALLOW PRIOR
Fascinating, Tim. Thanks! Based on this list, my choice to switch my major in college from Social Work to English was a wise one. :)
Tim
Here's a timely short article on sleep (http://finance.yahoo.com/news/americas-10-most-sleep-deprived-222203794.html). It lists the 10 most sleep deprived professions, along with the 10 that get the most sleep. Mine's not on either. Cheers, Tim
KAREN SWALLOW PRIOR
Because I never took seriously or heeded the exhortation from some corners of the church to get up earlier for "quiet time," I never thought about what a source of pressure it could be to many. Thanks for those comments illuminating this problem. @ms, wow. @Laura, yes, I think that connection in terms of control to eating and other self-punishing behaviors is very strong. @Philip, that's really a great point that rest and sleep were part of the prelapsarian condition. But I still think that now that death has entered the picture as a result of the fall, sleep (in its fallen state) does serve as a reminder of our mortality. But your point makes me think twice about the theology in Herbert's poem. :) Thanks for adding to the discussion in such an enriching way. Thanks to all for doing so!
Laura
I was struck with the comment that sleep deprivation is a control issue. Sort of like extreme dieting and exercise are to an anorexic?
Laura
I was struck with the comment that sleep deprivation is a control issue. Sort of like extreme dieting and exercise are to an anorexic?
Alison Swihart
My ex-husband used to tell me that I could get by on 4 hours of sleep if I just put my mind to it. He made that a standard of pleasing him.
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