"Your Body, Your Spirit, & a Good Night’s Sleep"

by: John Stonestreet &  G. Shane Morris

Because our bodies matter to God—and not just in a moral sense—our rest matters to God, too. So much so, He built it into the rhythms of the universe.

Do you proclaim with the psalmist: “Awake, my soul! Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn. I will praise you, Lord, among the nations” (Psalm 57:8)?

Do you climb out of bed each morning and sing with joy about God’s unfailing love (Psalm 59:16)?

If not, (and for the record, I rarely do), maybe it’s because we are among the one in three Americans who don’t get enough sleep. Seriously.

Last year, the Centers for Disease Control declared a new public health crisis: sleep deprivation. Millions are failing night after night to get the recommended seven to nine hours of rest, putting them at increased risk for health problems from anxiety and depression to diabetes and heart disease.

By some estimates, widespread lack of sleep is costing American employers over $100 billion annually “in lost production, medical expenses, and sick leave.” More in-depth research finds that twenty straight hours without sleep is the equivalent of being legally drunk. And sleep specialists are sounding the alarm that “drowsy driving” is just as deadly as drunk driving—and more common.

So what’s behind this epidemic of sleep deprivation? Why are Americans these days so incapable of turning off the lights and going to bed? The answer is in our pockets.

A growing body of research demonstrates that the frequency of light produced by smart phones, laptops and tablets triggers the release of chemicals in our brains that tell us, “It’s time to wake up! Its morning!”

The dreary glow of screens also drains our concentration and creativity. A study in the journal Social Psychology reported that even having a smart phone nearby degraded the quality of subjects’ work and studies, because it reminded them of their online social circles.

So what do we do to counteract this perfect storm of sleep deprivation and tech addiction?

Writing at Motherboard, Kaleigh Rogers describes her radical solution: She banned screens from her home for a full month. No TV, computers, or smart phones. Cold turkey.

Unlike healthy eating and exercise—good habits that take weeks or months to make a difference—Rogers says her tech-free experiment yielded immediate and astonishing results.

The first few days were like a dream, she writes. “We’d come home, put on some music, cook dinner together, and then—unimaginably—we’d sit at the table and eat. After dinner, Stuart would play guitar while I read. Chores were done promptly and without hesitation. It was blissful.”

Okay, that’s all great. But BreakPoint isn’t a self-help program. So what’s all this got to do with a Christian worldview?

Well, let’s go back to the beginning. God created day and He created night. A time to work, and a time to rest. The Sabbath, remember, begins in the evening, and we enter into an earthly rest in anticipation of resting eternally in God’s presence.

Remember too that we’re not pure spirits. We’re embodied spirits. The state of our body affects the state of our spirit. It’s why we avoid drunkenness and bodily immorality. It’s why we try to stay fit.

It’s no wonder then, as Kate Shellnutt writes at Christianity Today, that those who get quality sleep report feeling closer to God and having better faith lives overall.

And also, as Charles Spurgeon said, “God gives us sleep to remind us we are not Him.” We have limits. He doesn’t. We lie down at night trusting in God’s care, open to Him speaking to us, trusting him to revive these earthen vessels of ours in the morning—ready once again to join with God in His work to restore all thing in Jesus.

Now I’m not saying give up your cell phone or Facebook (especially if you read BreakPoint on them). But I am saying don’t let them deprive you of God’s gift of sleep, and in turn all the personal interaction, productivity, creativity, and especially spiritual vitality that make us fully human as God intended.

-from breakpoint.org/2018/01/body-spirit-good-nights-sleep-2/ 

I recommend putting all your e-screens (phone, tablet, laptop) away one hour before bedtime, which works well for me.  If you or your child has ADHD, try going without for a day or two, or putting away your e-screens 3-4 hours before bedtime.

Margin: Restoring Your Reserves

In 1995, Richard Swenson wrote a book called Margin: Restoring Emotional Physical Financial and Time Reserves to Overloaded Lives.  A printed page has a column of blank space along each side of every page.  We need some blank space in our lives; margin is the space that we need between ourselves and our limits. Do you allow yourself some free time everyday?  

We have a tendency to fill up every part of our schedules.  Our days and nights are full of work, meals, conversations, phone calls, texts, emails, news, interruptions, appointments, etc.  So there’s a tendency to fill up the blank spaces in our lives.  The problem with this is that when a crisis comes up, it pushes us beyond our limits, and then we suffer from stress overload.  It’s like being pushed off the edge of your limits, or off the edge of your page. That’s what leads to heart attacks, divorces, broken relationships, high blood pressure, angry outbursts, etc. 

If your life is filled to the edges of your schedule, and you find yourself exhausted at the end of every day, you are probably trying to do too much.  You need to develop margins in your life – some black space or free time between you and your limits.  What can you eliminate from your schedule?  What can you say no to?  Does that team or committee really need you?  How can you say no to the next new project that comes up?  Do you really need to work overtime regularly?  How can you free up some time to relax and unwind?  

The principle of margin is similar to the Biblical Sabbath principle.  The Sabbath was the day of rest on the 7^th day of creation, and the reason why God commanded the Israelites to rest on the 7^th day of the week.  The idea is that we need one day of rest and worship per week, to be renewed and rest our bodies and minds from the daily grind.  The idea for margin is the same – that we need times for rest and renewal, to recover from the stress of daily life.

If you are stressed out or worn out, plan to take a day off for rest and worship and renewal.  Plan to find time in your life, to leave blank, like the margin on the edge of the page.  Do this, and you will be blessed.

Strategies for Stress, part 2

Last week, I offered 4 ways of dealing with stress.  Today, I’m offering 5 more strategies for managing your stress: 

5. Re-arrange your lifestyle.  If you’re stressed, consider ways to simplify your lifestyle.  In Matthew 11:29-30, the yoke of Jesus is light and easy, not a burden – it leads to life.  Do you really NEED what you’re thinking of buying?  Can you downshift your lifestyle and slow down?  Can you eliminate a few activities and say No more often?  If you want to simplify your life, can you give away some of the stuff in your home, shed, or storage unit?

6. Build margin in your life.   In his book Margin, Richard Swenson writes about creating space between ourselves and our limits - like the blank margin at the sides of a printed page.  Then create margin(s) in your schedule and lifestyle.  See Exodus 34:21, Isaiah 5:8, and Mark 6:30 for examples of margin in Scripture.  Don’t check your work email on your weekend or vacation.  Carve out time for yourself and your needs.  If you spend a lot of time online, consider regular breaks from or a Sabbath from the internet.  Take time for yourself and your physical and emotional needs.

7. Refuse to give up.  Stress can build up in a person’s life and become too much for one to deal with.  Signs of too much stress include: Do you resent calls from someone?  Do you feel tired often?   Are you having physical symptoms or health problems that could stem from your stress?  In I Corinthians 1:8-9  Paul was under great pressure but refused to give up.  Persevere under pressure.  Refuse to give up.

8. Practice a weekly Sabbath.  Our society has become so 24/7 that there’s no longer a clear line between our work and our home/family life and time to relax and play.  It can be tempting to sacrifice your time for yourself and God and your loved ones.  If that’s true for you, separate your work from your home/family/God-time.  A Sabbath is a time for God, worship, rest, family, and play.

9.Exercise your body.  I Corinthians 6:19 – Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit.  Exercise reduces a person’s stress!  Physical activity releases physical tension and helps one sleep better.  Find a kind of exercise you enjoy, and do it regularly.

Choose 1-3 of these strategies to change your lifestyle and reduce your stress.  If someone in your life is struggling with stress, give them a copy of this.  Maybe s/he would be helped with some of these Strategies for Stress.  May God’s Spirit strengthen you and guide you.