Stop Cheating Sleep

We in the West seem to have a love/hate relationship with sleep. We always talk about wanting more sleep. Many deal with chronic fatigue, yet we cram more and more things into our schedule robbing minutes or hours from our sleep time.

We look for ways to stretch the day. We're so busy trying to accomplish and buy more, or just have more fun. This is how we interpret success. But in order to do it we have to work harder and sleep less. I see it in middle-aged people who're desperate to build their retirement as well as keep up on the current bills and put children through college. I see it in young people, as if some unseen force compels them to stay awake late into the night. Often they don't even use those sleeping hours for homework, they just stay awake with friends, in front of the television, or on Facebook. Like toddlers who are so afraid they might miss something they don't want to go to sleep even if they're about to drop from exhaustion.

There is a lack of trust deep within us that tells us we must control our day. It borders on neurotic.

"Cease striving and know that I AM God."

~Psalm 46:10

"Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; 

yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?"

~Matthew 6:26

We know that sleep is important to our physical well-being. Studies show that the lack of sleep (eight or nine hours is optimal for adults) increases our risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood-pressure and Alzheimer's. It causes foggy thinking and poor memory, lack of sex drive, and it breaks down the collagen that protects the skin and keeps it looking young. These are just a few of the problems connected to lack of sleep. 

Our first and most important remedy for this serious problem is to make sleep a priority. Guard the sleeping hours diligently. Remember that the hours before midnight are the best for the body to repair itself. A good rule of thumb is to plan to get in bed by ten on a regular basis. 

If you have trouble falling asleep you can take a bath with some soothing essential oils such as Lavender, Valerian, or Clary-sage. Any combination of them would work too. You only need 5-10 drops in a bath.  

Check your diet. A healthy diet full of living foods increases ability to get good rest. You may also enjoy a small glass of wine with dinner for minerals, digestion and relaxation. A cup of herbal tea before bed is helpful.

If you just can't fall asleep or you wake up during the night and can't get back to sleep, take one tablespoon of Nutritional Yeast in a small amount of water or juice. Stir and drink. The chromium in the yeast balances the blood sugar and allows you to sleep. It works for me every time, even if I drink a Latté in the evening. (I don't suggest coffee in the evening if you have trouble falling asleep). 

So here's my prescription for better sleep:

   -Trust God to help you accomplish what you need to do in your waking hours. Let go of the need to control.

   -Set aside 7 - 9 hours each day for sleep and guard them diligently.

   -Eat right.

   -Plan a routine of relaxation during the hours before bed. (wine with dinner, herbal tea and/or warm bath before bed).

   -Nutritional Yeast for difficulties falling asleep. 

(Also resist the urge to nap during the day if you have trouble sleeping at night).

Let's stop trying to cheat sleep. Let's make friends with sleep. It's a buddy we can't live without.



What helps you sleep? Please share it here in the comments. Thanks!

Faith = Lavender for the Soul

Nature reveals so much about God. The more we learn, the more we understand that God is trustworthy. Did you know that Jewel Weed is a natural antidote for Poison Ivy? Did you also know that it is almost always found growing near Poison Ivy? I just learned this recently on a hike with my critique partners (waving to all you, Sharpies). I suspect our heavenly Father created a plant for every need we would have, and placed it close to where it would be needed. Jehovah Jireh is one of his names, after all...The Lord our Provider.

Essential Oils are the lifeblood of a plant. The Bible mentions the usage of oils in healing. Lavender is one of those plants our Creator provided. It has a wide range of uses. It is antibiotic, antiseptic, antidepressant, sedative, and a detoxifier which promotes healing and prevents scarring. I keep a bottle of Lavender essential oil in the kitchen in case of burns and in my "medicine" cabinet in the bathroom with my other essential oils.  Lavender is one of the few oils that can be used as a relaxant as well as a stimulant.

Lavender helps ease stress, relax muscles and calm the mind. It also stimulates thoughts and increases energy, giving that little push we may need to get up and go.

God thinks relaxation and rest are important. He instituted the Sabbath, commanding us to rest one day a week. He knew how we'd be...thinking we're so important we can't rest for a whole day. He also made celebrations throughout the year that included rest from work. And He promised peaceful sleep to His people.

Hebrews 4 encourages us to enter God's rest. Chapter 3 gives an account of Israel's sin of unbelief and how they were prohibited from entering the rest God offered them.

"Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. But encourage one another day after day...For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end." ~Hebrews 3:12-14

Hebrews 3 and 4 demonstrate how unbelief was the sin that caused Israel to strive in the wilderness for 40 years rather than entering into the rest God had hoped to provide for them.

Do you ever strive and worry, causing yourself stress while God patiently holds the door open for you to enter the rest He already provided? 

(Maybe that's only me).

"'Today if you hear His voice do not harden your hearts as when they provoked Me.' Who provoked Him when they had heard? Indeed, did not all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses? And with whom was He angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient? So we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief."

~Hebrews 3:15-19

When we're not convinced of what we beleive, we disobey because we don't trust God to do what's right and best. We think we know better, whether we admit it or not. That is the cause of sin.

Hebrews 11 tells us that faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen.

So then faith is the key.

Faith is like Lavender for our soul. With it we can rest easy in God's hands entrusting all our worry to Him. And with it we have the motivation to actively obey His commands.