You may be sleeping a third of your life away, and that’s OK!

The danger of over-spiritualizing the physical

I once read about a character in a novel who didn’t believe in “wasting time” on things like eating and sleeping. Years later, as a young adult, I heard a pastor say, “If you sleep for eight hours a day, you are sleeping a third of your life away!” He would also make statements like, “Don’t listen to the doctors who say you need eight hours of sleep a day!”

The interesting thing is that this pastor had a strong science background, which came through in many of his teachings on other topics. However, when it came to the topic of sleep, he appeared dismissive, or perhaps was just uninformed about the science of sleep. While he downplayed the need for adequate amounts of sleep, he at least acknowledged that some sleep was essential, as evidenced by the following story.

Someone who was a medical student at the time, told me she was surprised when this same pastor encouraged people to take naps during the day prior to attending all- night prayer meetings. Even as a medical student who should have had some understanding of the importance of sleep, she somehow believed, based on this pastor’s teachings, that if people were “spiritually” prepared before the night vigils, they wouldn’t need sleep! As such, she was actually surprised when he gave advice which should have been common sense.

How much sleep do we really need?

There is no exact number of hours of sleep that works for everyone of the same age, but adults generally need 7- 9 hours of sleep a day. After the age of 60, adults tend to sleep for shorter amounts of time with more interruptions.

When we have a proper understanding of the importance of sleep, we are less likely to be dismissive of the essential role it plays in our lives.

Sleep is restorative for physical health and impacts our ability to learn new things (neuroplasticity). Our synapses, the connections between our nerves, are excited by external stimuli and sleep allows them to rest so they are not excited for too long.

According to Mark Wu, MD, PhD, neurologist and sleep expert at Johns Hopkins, during sleep, the brain is engaged in essential activities that affect the quality of life. Lack of sleep has a negative impact on physical disorders, including seizures and migraines. Sleep disturbance has also been identified as a risk factor for suicide.

In addition, researchers believe that the removal of waste products from the brain may be enhanced during sleep.

Sleep is so important that our bodies can force us to sleep when we are deprived. (People don’t intentionally fall asleep at the steering wheel).

Oversleeping can be problematic, too!

While sleeping for 18-20 hours a day is normal for lions and tigers, it would be problematic in us humans. Just as inadequate sleep is bad for us, so is oversleeping, which is associated with depression, Type II diabetes, obesity and heart disease.

The problem with over-spiritualizing sleep

A friend once mentioned that she had trouble staying awake during a prayer meeting and the immediate response from someone else was that she needed to pray against the evil forces that were causing her to fall asleep.

To me, that is an example of over-spiritualizing…. People fall asleep when they are sleep – deprived or simply tired. It’s the way the human body works. Our bodies need sleep to function optimally, no matter how much time we spend praying. If anyone accuses you of sleeping a third of your life away, you can tell them that that was part of God’s plan, just like it was His plan for tigers to sleep 75% of their lives away! We need rest, like animals do, just in different proportions. Even God rested – it’s in the Bible.

If you are experiencing sleep problems, please check out the resources below and consult your physician.