Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise. 

~Benjamin Franklin

When you wake up in the morning, do you feel rested? A recent survey suggests that 65% of Americans rarely feel “rested or energized.” When we don’t get enough quality sleep at night it affects our disposition, energy, performance, and health, and our bodies aren’t able detoxify from the day’s assaults. When we look at the body as a whole, we can understand that the amount and the time when we are sleeping may not be the only reason we are not feeling “rested,” but it’s a great place to start.  

According to Devin Burke when talking about sleep from a “basic survival standpoint” . . . air is most important. We last a couple hours without water. The next thing is sleep, food, then exercise. Many people focus so much on their diet and exercise and neglect sleep. They wonder why their body isn’t responding to eating these healthier foods and all the effort that goes into their training regiments. It’s because they’re not getting enough restoration and quality sleep to have that make an impact.”

In our modern world we are blessed with endless work and entertainment. We can work or amuse ourselves all night long if we choose.  Unfortunately, these temptations can get in the way of a restful night’s sleep, and as we continue down this path of sleep deprivation, we increase the risk of all the major diseases like obesity, depression, cancer, heart disease, and Alzheimer’s.

A few years ago, I heard this testimony from a mom in her 40s that has a large family, a business, and a lot going on. Her story really resonated with me. This lady developed high blood pressure at a very young age and she was convinced that she could reduce it on her own. She changed her diet and started exercising more, but nothing seemed to help. One day she learned more about the circadian rhythm and how important it was to sleep at the right time. She also learned how having irregular sleeping times puts extra stress on the body. Researchers believe that the best hours for sleep are before midnight, and in the past, she had always stayed up until midnight, because it was quiet and she could get a lot done. She often woke up about 8:00 a.m. After learning more, she decided to start going to bed at 9:00 and getting up earlier. She was amazed that after a short time her blood pressure returned to normal!

Some people struggle with falling asleep (I have been there), and if you are one of them, you might consider eating a nourishing, traditional diet, correcting deficiencies, reducing stress and learning to say “no” to yourself and others when needed, practicing forgiveness, taking a warm bath in the evening, not eating three hours before bedtime, keeping a cool, dark bedroom, getting plenty of sunshine during the day along with physical exercise (early in the day), eliminating caffeine and or alcohol, and avoiding screens 30 minutes before bedtime. I find that reading a book, as long as it’s not one of Alena Mentink’s, helps me to fall asleep easily. My husband finds that reading makes him “more awake.”

We have been convinced in our society that, “there’s a pill for that.” If someone is having trouble sleeping, those “pills” can be very addictive, cause serious side effects, and don’t address the root problem.  Rather than lose the power of observation (which is so easy to do) let’s improve our sleeping habits by making careful observations of what works best to help us get that quality sleep. It’s going to take sacrifice, but it’s worth it.  

I used to be one of those Americans that never felt rested, but I’m not anymore. How are your sleep habits? What helps you to fall asleep? Do you feel rested during the day? We love to hear from you!

Our family has learned to slow down, make careful observations of what heals/damages, decrease modern distractions, take a little more time preparing our food, and most importantly to seek the Lord’s wisdom. It’s a daily struggle and it never goes perfectly, but we just keep trying to do the best we can. If you are working toward a more traditional, clean, whole foods diet, and would like to take small steps to get there, then you are at the right place. “Week one was Get Your Salt Better,” week 2 was “The Power of Water,” week 3 was about removing toxins from our water, and this week we are talking about getting our sleep better. Join us next week for Get Your . . . Better.