"Hush Little Baby, Don't Say A Word..."
Ah the beautiful peace of ... sleep. CBS News reported April 2012 that 41 million American workers don't get enough sleep, CDC says. When was the last time you spent 24 hours doing-nothing! I mean a full day where you didn't produce anything?! What if I told you that not only is rest your God-given right as a human, it's a mandatory commandment?
That's right. TO REST IS A COMMANDMENT. "Where," you might say..."I don't remember anything in the Bible that says, I have to stop running myself into the ground...I can go all day and all night and do whatever I want...life is short, I'll play hard and sleep when I'm dead."
Well with that attitude, you most certainly will. Not that rest is a laughing matter. "There's about 41 million workers who aren't getting the recommended
amount of sleep," study author Dr. Sara Luckhaupt, a medical officer in
the division of surveillance, hazard evaluations and field studies at
the CDC's National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health in
Washington, D.C, told HealthDay.
"Not surprisingly, workers who work the night shift are more likely to
not get enough sleep," she said, adding people who work more than one job or more than 40 hours a week are also likely to get too little sleep.
Exodus 20: 8-118 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. Hebrews 4:9 backs it up by saying, There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God. Okay, okay, not to be preachy, but it's nice to know that taking time off from everything is not considered being 'lazy'. It's actually exactly how you're supposed to spend your down time.
Now of course, not to mention the many known health reasons for rest, there are spiritual and emotional reasons to rest as well. It is a time to reflect, clear the mind, exhale, and in return, your focus, energy and stamina will be replenished. Not to mention you will feel emotionally stronger, spiritually sound and finally, your mind, body and spirit are all at peace at the same time.
History teaches us that Sunday became the day of rest because it was recognized as the day the Lord rested as well as the day that Jesus rose from the dead. Before then, it was actually Saturday! Okay so that's probably what you would consider useless knowledge you can use to annoy your friends. The point is, After work and play, there is rest.
Dr. Michael J. Breus, a sleep expert and clinical psychologist, told WebMD that if you fall asleep in less than 10 minutes, you're probably sleep deprived. Another sign that may ring familiar to some: "If you hit the snooze button more than twice you are probably sleep-deprived," Breus said.
What should the nation's sleepy workforce do to stop the trends?
Luckhaupt told WebMD that employers should take steps to make sure their workers are getting enough sleep, such as by tweaking night shift schedules or imposing limits on consecutive shifts. Employers should also have wellness initiatives that encourage workers to go to sleep at the same time every night and create a relaxing bedroom environment. That also means avoiding reading or television in bed and turning off that smartphone.
Revelations 1:10, Galatians 2:16 & 4:10, 2 Corinthians 3:6-17 and Psalm all support the fact that rest = blessing! That's right. If you give your body the rest it needs, it will reward you by being the tool you need to function in the world. Let's face it folks, it's the only body we're going to get on this lovely trip through life so let's do our best to take care it and in return, it will take care of us!
"Getting the right amount of sleep can boost a person's health. A study earlier this year found people who don't get sufficient sleep significantly raise their risks for diabetes and obesity. Love it or hate it, with an ever-increasing number of studies finding a direct connection between sleep deprivation and weight gain, it's difficult to deny the cause-and-effect relationship. People who get at least seven hours of sleep
per night tend to have less body fat than people who don't. There are,
of course, other factors involved in determining who becomes overweight
and who doesn't, like food intake, exercise
and genes. But sleep is a more integral of the process than most people
realize. In a study involving 9,000 people between 1982 and 1984 (NHANES I),
researchers found that people who averaged six hours of sleep per night
were 27 percent more likely to be overweight than their seven-to-nine
hour counterparts; and those averaging five hours of sleep per night
were 73 percent more likely to be overweight.
So there you have it. The mind, body and soul can only benefit from good ol' fashioned R & R done the right way. And when you are well rested, you can wake up and bring in the new day recharged, refreshed and ready to take on what ever new challenges or tasks you have for the day. Sabbath rest means to work hard and rest easy. Are you being a blessing for you? Are you using your one and only life to serve a higher purpose? If you answered yes, then you owe it to yourself and the those who depend on you to : RECOVER, RENEW, RESTORE AND REFUEL. If you need a little help finding the sweet spot in your hectic schedule to rest, be sure to take a look at "Making and Keeping Priorities" posted 10/28/12 on this site. If you want more reading for daily study, you can look at Mark 2:27, Matthew 11:28 & 12:10. Now go out there well rested and embrace your life!
Until next time, I'm DeMaster Thomas and this - is Real Living.
10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. Hebrews 4:9 backs it up by saying, There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God. Okay, okay, not to be preachy, but it's nice to know that taking time off from everything is not considered being 'lazy'. It's actually exactly how you're supposed to spend your down time.
Now of course, not to mention the many known health reasons for rest, there are spiritual and emotional reasons to rest as well. It is a time to reflect, clear the mind, exhale, and in return, your focus, energy and stamina will be replenished. Not to mention you will feel emotionally stronger, spiritually sound and finally, your mind, body and spirit are all at peace at the same time.
History teaches us that Sunday became the day of rest because it was recognized as the day the Lord rested as well as the day that Jesus rose from the dead. Before then, it was actually Saturday! Okay so that's probably what you would consider useless knowledge you can use to annoy your friends. The point is, After work and play, there is rest.
Dr. Michael J. Breus, a sleep expert and clinical psychologist, told WebMD that if you fall asleep in less than 10 minutes, you're probably sleep deprived. Another sign that may ring familiar to some: "If you hit the snooze button more than twice you are probably sleep-deprived," Breus said.
What should the nation's sleepy workforce do to stop the trends?
Luckhaupt told WebMD that employers should take steps to make sure their workers are getting enough sleep, such as by tweaking night shift schedules or imposing limits on consecutive shifts. Employers should also have wellness initiatives that encourage workers to go to sleep at the same time every night and create a relaxing bedroom environment. That also means avoiding reading or television in bed and turning off that smartphone.
Revelations 1:10, Galatians 2:16 & 4:10, 2 Corinthians 3:6-17 and Psalm all support the fact that rest = blessing! That's right. If you give your body the rest it needs, it will reward you by being the tool you need to function in the world. Let's face it folks, it's the only body we're going to get on this lovely trip through life so let's do our best to take care it and in return, it will take care of us!
"Getting the right amount of sleep can boost a person's health. A study earlier this year found people who don't get sufficient sleep significantly raise their risks for diabetes and obesity. Love it or hate it, with an ever-increasing number of studies finding a direct connection between sleep deprivation and weight gain, it's difficult to deny the cause-and-effect relationship. People who get at least seven hours of sleep
per night tend to have less body fat than people who don't. There are,
of course, other factors involved in determining who becomes overweight
and who doesn't, like food intake, exercise
and genes. But sleep is a more integral of the process than most people
realize. In a study involving 9,000 people between 1982 and 1984 (NHANES I),
researchers found that people who averaged six hours of sleep per night
were 27 percent more likely to be overweight than their seven-to-nine
hour counterparts; and those averaging five hours of sleep per night
were 73 percent more likely to be overweight. So there you have it. The mind, body and soul can only benefit from good ol' fashioned R & R done the right way. And when you are well rested, you can wake up and bring in the new day recharged, refreshed and ready to take on what ever new challenges or tasks you have for the day. Sabbath rest means to work hard and rest easy. Are you being a blessing for you? Are you using your one and only life to serve a higher purpose? If you answered yes, then you owe it to yourself and the those who depend on you to : RECOVER, RENEW, RESTORE AND REFUEL. If you need a little help finding the sweet spot in your hectic schedule to rest, be sure to take a look at "Making and Keeping Priorities" posted 10/28/12 on this site. If you want more reading for daily study, you can look at Mark 2:27, Matthew 11:28 & 12:10. Now go out there well rested and embrace your life!
Until next time, I'm DeMaster Thomas and this - is Real Living.
