Friday, August 2, 2024

The Importance of Proper Rest/Sleep












3 John 2 – “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.”
 
“…Disease is an effort of nature to free the system from conditions that result from a violation of the laws of healthPure air, sunlight, abstemiousness, REST, exercise, proper diet, the use of water, trust in divine power--these are the true remediesEvery person should have a knowledge of nature's remedial agencies and how to apply them. It is essential both to understand the principles involved in the treatment of the sick and to have a practical training that will enable one rightly to use this knowledge.”  {MH 127.1-.2}
 
We should educate ourselves, not only to live in harmony with the laws of healthbut to teach others the better way…” (CG 361.2)
 
“…become more intelligent in regard to the laws of life. . . .  {11MR 187.3}
 
EDUCATE IN REGARD TO THE LAWS OF LIFE:
“…Educate people in regard to the laws of life…” {GCDB, January 30, 1893 par. 2}
 
WHY?
“…Educate people in the laws of life so that they may know how to preserve health…”  {MM 259.3)
 
“…It is the duty of every person, for his own sake, and for the sake of humanity, to inform himself in regard to the laws of life and conscientiously to obey them…” (MH 128.1)
 
True religion and the laws of health go hand in hand. It is impossible to work for the salvation of men and women without presenting to them the need of breaking away from sinful gratifications, which destroy the health, debase the soul, and prevent divine truth from impressing the mind…”  (7T 137.1)
 
You are to apply the laws of life and health to your own caseIn violating the laws of health…you misrepresent your maker…” {KC 20.4}
 
BIBLE:
Matthew 11:28 – “Come unto me all ye that labour, and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

Psalms 127:2 – “It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so He giveth his beloved sleep.”
 
SOP:
Sleep/Rest Is Nature's Restorer
“...Sleep, nature's sweet restorer...” (AH 289.1)
 
WE NEED A REFORM WHEN IT COMES TO SLEEPING
True temperance calls forreform insleeping…”  {Te 196.2}
 
THERE SHOULD BE REGULARITY IN SLEEPING:
The importance of regularity in the time for eating and sleeping should not be overlooked.”  {CG 363.2}
WHY?
“...Irregular hours for eating and SLEEPING sap the brain forces...” (CD 395.1)
 
“…Sleep should be regular and abundant…”  {Ed 205.4}
 
“...If they...strictly observe regularity in sleeping and in eating of simple food, taking nothing between meals, they need not be sick...”  (CH 142.2)
 
GET TO BED BY 9:00 PM (9:30 for students)
“…Make it habit not to sit up after nine o'clockevery light should be extinguished…”
(9MR 46.1) (there are exceptions to the rule)
 
In regulating the hours for sleep, there should be no haphazard workStudents should not form the habit of burning the midnight oil and taking the hours of the day for sleepcorrect the habitgoing to bed at a seasonable hour…in our schools the lights should be put out at half past nine.”  {CT 297.1}
 
WHY?
“...Sleep is worth far more before than after midnightTwo hours' good sleep before twelve o'clock is worth more than four hours after twelve o'clock. . . .  {7MR 224.3}
 
As a rule, the labor of the day should not be prolonged into the evening. . . . I have been shown that those who do this, often lose much more than they gain, for their energies are exhausted, and they labor on nervous excitement. They may not realize any immediate injury, but they are surely undermining their constitution.”  {Te 140.1}
 
WHAT HINDERS PROPER SLEEP?
1: TURNING NIGHT INTO DAY & READING UNTIL SLEEPING HOURS:
“...This turning night into day is a wretched, health-destroying habit, and this reading much by brain workers, up to the sleeping hours, is very injurious to health. It calls the blood to the brain and then there is restlessness and wakefulness, and the precious sleep, which should rest the body, does not come when desired.”   (9MR 46.1)
 
2: EATING BEFORE BEDTIME:
“In most cases, two meals a day are preferable to three. Supper, when taken at an early hour, interferes with the digestion of the previous meal. When taken later, it is not itself digested before bedtime. Thus the stomach fails of securing proper rest. The sleep is disturbed…”  (CD 176.1; 181.4)
 
3: LACK OF FRESH AIR:
“...care should be taken, that, sleeping or wakingday or night, they breathe a pure, invigorating atmosphere...”  {MH 381.3}
 
NAPS SHOULD BE TAKEN IN THE DAY: (especially for the elderly & sick)
“I urge you not to work above that which you are able to doYou should have less constant, taxing labor, that you may be able to keep yourself in a rested conditionYou should take a sleep in the daytime. You can then think more readily, and your thoughts will be more clear and your words more convincing....” (2SM 230.3-.4)

TAKE A POWER NAP TO HELP RE-ENGERGIZE:
My husband laid down upon a bench in the depot, and slept about fifteen minutes, which relieved his weariness in a measure...”  (RH, February 20, 1866 par. 9)
 
GET SOME REST/SLEEP IF YOU HAVE TO SPEAK IN THE EVENING:
“We rode about seven miles, to Bro. Gurney's, and obtained some rest and sleep, to prepare us to attend the evening appointment.”  (RH, February 20, 1866 par. 9)
 
DO NOT SACRIFICE SLEEP/REST IN PURSUIT OF MONEY:
One of the most fruitful sources of shattered constitutions among men is a devotion to the getting of money…they narrow their lives to the single pursuit of money, sacrifice rest, sleepTheir naturally good constitutions are broken down, disease sets in as a consequence of the abuse of their physical powers, and death closes the scene of a perverted life...”  (Te 140.3)
 
ONE REASON SABBATH IS GIVEN TO US IS TO GIVE US REST TO HELP REFRESH OUR BODIES & MINDS:
“…God instituted the Sabbath as a day of rest to repair nature's exhausted energies. No mind can continue day after day without cessation, either in business which taxes the mental powers, or in the acquirement of knowledge, without injury...”  (PH043 39.1)
 
WHO NEEDS REST?
1: The Sick: The sickare taxed with too many visitors and callers, who chat with them, and weary them by
      introducing different topics of conversation, when they need quiet, and undisturbed rest...”  (2SM 458.2)
2: Children: Children need more frequent change of…intervals of rest than grown persons do...”  {AH 289.2}
3: Gospel Workers (DA 360.2)
4: Nurses (MH 220.1)
5: Overworked persons (GW 243-246)
6. Aged Ministers (2SM 226.2)
7: Bible Workers (EV 494.1)
8: Women Workers (EV 494.1)
9: Sanitarium Workers (CH 314-315)
10: Those With Tired Nerves (MH 326-327)
11: Persons Engaged in Constant Mental Labor (CH 563.2-564 (top of page)
12: Physicians (CH 361.5)
 
***Those who do not labor have no need for rest. (GW 246.1)
***Remember that James White suffered tremendously from not resting his mind enough.”  {1T 519.1-.2}
 
DO NOT SACRIFICE SLEEP FOR AMUSEMENTS:
The majority of pleasure lovers attend the fashionable night gatherings, and spend in exciting amusements the hours God has given them for quiet REST and sleep in order to invigorate the bodyWould it not be better, therefore, to break up this habit of turning night into day, and the fresh hours of morning into night.”  (ML 143.5/.4-.6)                                                                
 
PROPER PERIODS OF SLEEP & REST ARE ESSENTIAL TO HEALTH OF BODY & MIND:
Proper periods of sleep and REST and an abundance of physical exercise are essential to health of body and mindTo rob nature of her hours for rest and recuperation by allowing one man to do the work of four, or of three, or even of two, will result in irreparable loss.”  {7T 247.1}

MEDICAL SCIENCE:
GETTING LESS THAN 6 HOURS OF SLEEP DOUBLES A PERSON'S CHANCES OF:
  • Anxiety
  • Chest Pains
  • Coronary Artery Disease (CAD)
  • Depression
  • Diabetes
  • Exhaustion
  • Genetics Altered
  • Heart Disease
  • High Blood Pressure
  • High Cholesterol
  • Poor Concentration
  • Strokes
  • Weight Gain
  • And MUCH MORE

GETTING 9 OR MORE HOURS OF SLEEP TRIPLES A PERSON'S CHANCES OF ALL THE ABOVE DISEASES.

***EXCESSIVE SLEEP = A SIN: (CD 44.1)
 ***A PERSON SHOULD GET 7-8 HOURS OF SLEEP EACH NIGHT
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/03/120326113805.htm  
http://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/feb/25/sleeping-six-hours-night-activity-genes  
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2157461/Less-6-hours-sleep-significantly-increases-risk-stroke-fit-healthy.html  
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/science/2009-08-13-sleep-gene_N.htm
http://www.everwell.com/consumer_tips/healthy_skeptic/sleep-tips-length-8-hours.php

WHAT TO DO IF YOU CAN'T GO TO SLEEP:

  • Sit in the sun from 8:00-9:00 am every morning
  • Drink Hop tea “...Hop tea will induce sleep...” (2SM 297.5}
  • 1.5 t. hops in a coffee cup. Pour boiling water on top and cover (steep) x 20 minutes
  • Walk 1 hour every day in the sunshine in the morning hours
  • Pray
  • Soak in warm water x 30 minutes. WARM, NOT HOT WATER
  • ***DO NOT watch T.V. or be on the Internet right before bedtime.
  • ***Turn alarm clock facing away from you if it has a red light on it...this interferes with proper sleep.


WHAT TO DO IF YOU CAN'T STAY ASLEEP:

  • Sit in the sun from 4:00-5:00 pm every afternoon (Spring/Summer months...earlier for Fall/Winter months). Sunshine helps with serotonin levels which help build melatonin levels at the proper time.


http://www.yurtopic.com/health/alternative-medicine/sunshine-benefits.html 
http://www.ehow.com/way_5631046_much-do-need-boost-serotonin_.html

MORE FACTSS ABOUT REST AND SLEEP:

  • Babies need fresh air while sleeping (MH 381.2)
  • Covering a baby’s head during sleep is harmful (MH 381.2/2SM 465.2)
  • Children and youth should not be permitted to sleep in (CH 187.2/ML 143.3)(Proverbs 6:9)
  • Nature given time to repair during sleep (MM 80.3)
  • Sleep, nature’s sweet restorer, invigorates the weary body and prepares it for next day’s duties
  • (CH 147.2)
  • God watches over His people when they are asleep at night (SC 85.4)
  • Angels are unseen visitors in sleeping room (CH 417.1)
  • Do not sacrifice sleep for amusements (ML 143.5)
  • Don’t sacrifice sleep for earning money (Te 140.3)
  • The labor of the day should not be prolonged into the evening (Te 140.1)
  • God’s people labor too hard without allowing themselves periods of change and rest/recreation
  • (AH 494.1) “Care needs to be exercised in regard to the regulation of hours for sleeping and laboring. We must take periods of rest, periods of recreation, periods for contemplation. . . . The principles of temperance have a wider range than many think.” {AH 494.4}
  • There are benefits from rising early (6T 188.1)
  • Proper periods of sleep and rest are essential for health of body and health of mind
  • The sick need undisturbed rest (2SM 458.2)
  • A good respiration induces good, sound sleep (MH 272.1)
  • Fresh air induces sound, sweet sleep (1T 702.2)
  • Do not sleep in ill-ventilated rooms (2T 527.3/CH 57.1)
  • Digestive organs should be resting during sleeping hours (CH 118.3)
  • Sleeping rooms should be large (CH 57.4)
  • Sleeping rooms especially should be well ventilated, and the atmosphere made healthy by light and air. {2SM 462.3}

Note: Though time is short, and there is a great work to be done, the Lord is not pleased to have us so prolong our seasons of activity that there will not be time for periods of rest, for the study of the Bible, and for communion with God…” {ML 133.2}

Study and Teach Laws of Preventive Medicine.--There is now positive need…to interestedly instruct those who look to them for medical skill to ascertain the cause of their infirmities. They should call their attention in a special manner to the laws which God has established, which cannot be violated with impunity. they dwell much on the working of disease, but do not, as a general rule, arouse the attention to the laws which must be sacredly and intelligently obeyed, to prevent disease.”  --Medical Ministry, page 223.

ADDITIONAL INFO & QUOTES ON PROPER REST/SLEEP:
  • Even light physical activity can help you sleep better at night
  • Missing out on sleep can promote Alzheimer’s
  • “…rising at three o'clock in the morning and writing from six to fifteen pages before breakfast…” {LS 267.4} 
  • “…I rise in the morning at two, three, and four o'clock…” (3SM 118.1)
  • If our medical missionary workers would follow the Great Physician's prescription for obtaining rest, a healing current of peace would flow through their souls…”  {CH 370.2}  

SOP ABBREVIATIONS:
1T = Testimonies for the Churches, Volume 1
2SM = Selected Messages, volume 2
7MR = Manuscript Releases, volume 7
7T = Testimonies for the Churches, Volume 1
9MR = Manuscript Releases, Volume 9
AH = Adventist Home
CD = Counsels on Diet & Foods
CG = Child Guidance
CH = Counsels on Health
CT = Counsels to Parents, Teachers, & Students
DA = Desire of Ages
EV = Evangelism
GW = Gospel Workers
MH = Ministry of Healing
ML = My Life Today
PH043 = Pamphlet 43
RH = Review & Herald articles
Te = Temperance
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