Rest?
What does it really mean to rest? Is it just about how much sleep we get? I believe that it goes much deeper than just sleep. We might go to bed at night but what is our quality of sleep? There are a lot of factors that come into play.
How much sleep should we really get? And how can we get the best quality sleep? I know that there are mornings I get up and I might have slept but I do not feel rested. If we are not having the sleep and real rest we need it can affect our health dramatically.
As far as how much sleep we need it is different for each individual. Those who are young and older need to get more hours of sleep. Also, those who are sick or have a weakened immune system also require more sleep. There are some basic guidelines that a person can look at and then they can also individualize them. You can sleep too little and be tired and also sleep too much and be tired. Oversleeping is not healthy either.
While Sleeping
There are many changes that take place while we are sleeping. For children, they actually grow while they are sleeping. Although they are growing all the time it seems that they actually grow more at night while they are sleeping. It gives the body a chance to work more when the child is asleep.
Our body also restores and repairs itself while we are sleeping. During this process, it is actually detoxing our bodies so that our immune systems are being built up to be ready for the next day’s threats.
Now if we are not doing the foundational things that I have already been talking about in the previous writings in this series it will affect our sleep. We need to be eating healthy, making sure we get exercise and doing some other factors that will be talking later in this series that will affect our sleep. Our immune systems can’t even begin to keep up with the toxins and the repairs each night if we are bombarding our body with things that our poisons to us. We can’t control everything our bodies are subjected to but we need to control what we can.
Preparing for Sleep
There are things that you can do that will help prepare you for a good night of sleep. Most people in our society today eat their biggest meal in the evening. They are usually having harder to digest foods as well as eating late. Then they go to bed in the hope to get a good night of sleep. But the reality is that your body has to work so hard at digesting the food that it is definitely not a restful sleep. And on top of it you’re not burning all the calories that you just ate because you are sleeping, therefore, it turns to fat.
The best thing to do is to make your supper meal the smallest and easiest to digest meal of the day. And to make sure it is eaten several hours before you go to bed so that most of the digesting is completed. This seems like a really hard thing to do but if you schedule your day and plan things out it is possible. I know traditions are hard to break. But keeping our immune systems healthy is so important. Ask those that haven’t cared and have gotten really sick with something really serious. Suddenly at that point, the changes that we needed to make seem very important but it could be too late.
More Factors
It is really important that your bedroom is really dark. There should be no artificial light, like clocks or chargers. Remove anything from your bedroom that lets off a light. Any kind of light affects your sleep pattern which can affect how restful of a sleep that you get. When there is light, when we should not have a light, it affects our circadian rhythm. Thus we do not get a restful sleep and we do not have the best day either. So make sure to remove everything that is producing an artificial light from your room. If you are in an area where it is light a lot of hours in 24 it would be good to get blackout curtains so that your room can be completely dark.
The last factor that I am going to talk about in this writing is electronics. The lights from our electronics affect our sleep. The lights keep us stimulated. I know that a lot of the devices now have a different color of light going into the evening to help with this issue. But even that is not full proof. And then there is the television as well. The best thing to do is put away those devices at least 1 hour before going to bed but 2 hours would even be better. You might be thinking, “I can’t do that. How am I going to watch anything in the evening or keep in contact with my family and friends?”
Here is my suggestion. Spend time with your spouse or family. Because I hate to break it to you but watching something is not spending time with your spouse or family. Do some things that are interactive. Read together, play a board game, take an evening walk, etc. There are endless things that you can do which involve more communication, which will draw your family closer together. Reading (a real book, not on your electronics) before going to bed can get you into the sleeping mood as well.
Helpers
Some people really struggle with calming down at night. And they may have some imbalances. I have found some things that have helped me in the process. God has given us things in nature that can help in the relaxing process. Taking a stroll in the outdoors in the evening can be calming. Just being out in nature is relaxing. If you live in the city this may be a little difficult but give it a try.
I have also found some products that really help me. Valerian root taken in a capsule can be very relaxing if taken an hour before bed. Also, if you have the time you can get in a warm bath with 1 cup of Epson salts along with 20 drops of relaxing essential oil like lavender. Another thing that I like to do is diffuse some essential oils by my bed; my favorite is a Restful Blend. I put a drop on each foot of Restful Blend and Vetiver essential oil. The oils help get me relaxed and ready for a good night of sleep. I feel more rested in the morning.
Another thing that I have found to be helpful if I do it, is thinking about a Bible verse as I lay in bed. Instead of thinking over the things of the day and maybe worrying about the things coming tomorrow I can think of promises and pray. I can say I never make it through my prayer. Even when I wake in the middle of the night, praying helps me go back to sleep more quickly. So instead of counting sheep spend time praying for others.
Dear Father,
Our need for good sleep is very necessary for us to have a good healthy immune system. As we make a commitment to get the rest we need You to help us follow through. Thank You for giving us such amazing bodies.
In Jesus Name,
Amen
Commit to getting more rest today. Your life depends on it.
Love you all!
What do you do to help you relax before going to bed?
This is part 7 in a several part series “Maintaining Healthy Immune Function”. There are many things I will be sharing with you on how to support your immune system, both physically and spiritually. Although what I am sharing is not exhaustive, I am sharing just a taste from my own experience. In part 6 I talked about how prayer is the breath of the soul and how it helps us maintain healthy spiritual immune function. Coming up in part 8 I will be talking about another kind of rest and how it helps maintain healthy spiritual immune function. Stay tuned!