Once upon a time there was prince who wanted to marry a real princess, he travelled all over the world but couldn’t find one. On evening a terrible storm raged around his castle and there came a knocking at the city gate. The old king opened it and there stood a princess, her clothes soaked through, seeking refuge. The old queen said ‘we’ll soon find out if she is real princess’ and proceeded to strip the bed the visitor would sleep in, and putting a pea on the bedstead placed 20 mattresses on top of it and 20 eider-downs on top of the mattresses.
In the morning she was asked how she had slept. She replied “Oh, very badly, I scarcely closed my eyes all night, Heaven knows what was in the bed, but I was lying on something hard, so that I’m black and blue all over my body, it was horrible.” Now they knew that she was a real princess because she had felt the pea right through the twenty mattresses and the twenty eider-down beds. The prince therefore took her as his wife for she was a real princess.
Sleep is so vital we cannot function properly without it, but modern day tension is non-stop and affects our basic inherent needs. People are now waking up to the reality of quality sleep as part of a healthy lifestyle, but struggle to balance work, family and leisure time without enough hours in the day. The ‘Sleep Council’ has said that Britain is becoming a nation of zombies with one third sleeping badly most nights, with the average nationally of 6 hours 36 minutes. This apparently is a recipe for national exhaustion; it lowers resistance to sickness creates mood swings, speeds up the aging process and makes us a danger in traffic.
We live in a 24/7 high-risk society where many modern gadgets dominate our waking and sleeping time, with many couples swapping sex drive for the hard drive! Employers are recognising the need for their employees to be rested fully before turning up for work, so they can obtain good productivity. It was found that in the building industry if you work a man 7 days a week you only get 6 days output. The body tires and sleep is affected. Sleep restores us and is a mystery that ought to be indulged.
Sleep comes in cycles each lasting about 90 minutes, of which we usually have four or five. Each cycle has two parts – non-REM sleep and REM sleep. During sleep we lose control of our blood pressure which drops as does body temperature and our metabolic rate. Apparently the body’s growth hormone is only released in sleep and its best to be lying down when this occurs. Babies need 16 to 20 hours daily and teenagers going through hormonal growth spurts generally lie in bed longer.
What satisfies one is not suitable for another; we vary, and require different periods of sleep, so the macho image of not needing sleep the, “Thatcher syndrome,” is not suitable for all. Churchill existed on minimal periods of sleep but they had to be frequent – short naps. But whatever the length there are several factors that disturb our sleep. I am writing this a little after 4:00am having awoken feeling fully refreshed, but no doubt having to go back to bed by 6:00am for an hour!
It was a pea that troubled the mythical princess but these are the current statistics of sleep disturbance. 98% worry about personal issues, 77% do not have enough time/too busy, 60% worry about work, 49% need the bathroom, 46% are awakened by their partner, 24% have difficulty with shift work, 21% find the bedroom too bright, 20% are awakened by their children, and 16% are woken by their pets. There are a few more which no doubt I haven’t covered, but sufficient are the problems that many people are plagued with daily, but one of the most common is sitting up late watching TV. You finish up over-tired. They say an hour before midnight is better than two afterwards, and nothing constructive is done after 10:30 at night except to procreate children!
The maiden in the Song of Songs says “I sleep, but my heart waketh:” [Song 5:2], and the mystery of sleep is that in the necessity of bodily rest the heart or mind resolves issues and gives answers by revelation. Many times I have arisen from my bed with an answer to a spiritual problem and/or scriptural text; for while I have been sleeping my mind has been working.
The Psalmist said: “It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he gives his beloved sleep.” [Ps 127:2] This should be coupled with “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” [1 Pet 5:7]. To say ‘don’t worry, just trust’ is easy, but by experiencing God’s sovereignty, you gradually come to a point of rest in sleep. It will not stop you going to the bathroom but might help you avoid a consultant psychiatrist or counsellor!
