“I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me” (Psalm 3:5).
“I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety” (Psalm 4:8)
Sleep is an important for good health as proper nutrition and exercise are. Deep sleep and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep (during which dreaming occurs) keep us well by promoting healthy immune function and production of growth hormones and keeping us energized and clear-minded.
Sleep occurs in cycles that last about 90 minutes each. A person may complete five cycles in a typical night’s sleep. The amount of sleep necessary to function varies from person to person, with some sleeping only a few hours and others unable to do without a full 10 hours. For good health, most adults need between 7 and 9 hours of sleep a night; children need about 10 to 14 hours of sleep, depending on age.
Sleep for Your Health
Sleep affects all aspects of our health. Studies indicate that risk for disease starts to increase when people get less than 6 or 7 hours of sleep a night. Sleep deficit may put the body into a state of high alert, causing the production of stress hormones and inflation in the body, both of which increase risk factor for obesity, heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes, and depression.
One interesting finding suggests that men and women who work night shifts are at higher risk for breast and prostate cancer. Nighttime illumination (bright light), interrupts the body’s nocturnal production of the hormone melatonin. Melatonin, which is produced in our body only in the dark, protects our bodies from hormone-related tumors. Decreased production of melatonin increases the risk of those cancers.
Other studies show that lack of sleep increase both plaque in blood vessels and blood pressure. Since blood pressure naturally rises in the morning anyway, insomnia could be a factor in the many heart attacks and strokes that occur early in the morning.
Infectious diseases tend to make us feel sleepy. This probably happens because the chemicals our immune systems produce while fighting an infection are powerful sleep inducers. Sleep may help the body conserve energy and other resources that the immune system needs to fight the infection.
As a helpful resource, I have lots of articles on healthy ingredients and recipes that you can implement into your daily life.
If you’d like to dig deeper into my journey of discovering God’s plan for health and wellness, check out my book, Made For Paradise: God’s Original Plan for Healthy Eating, Physical Activity, and Rest.
