Sleep is something that every human and animal needs. Some individuals need more than eight hours while others can run with as little as three hours of sleep. However, the average amount of sleep is between 7 ½ and 8 hours (Kalat, 2016). Regardless of the amounts needed, one who is without out the adequate amount of sleep can face impairments of memory, attention, and cognition (Kalat, 2016).

People don’t realize the importance of sleep. There is a multitude of diseases and issues that can surface without it, including brain tumors, epilepsy, Parkinson disease, neurological and psychiatric issues. These normally arrive due to sleep disorders like insomnia.

Insomnia is a sleep disorder in which individuals have trouble falling and/or staying asleep. Some even face waking up to early. Insomnia can be short-term (acute) or long-term (chronic). There isn’t a certain reason one may encounter this as it has many causes such as uncomfortable temperatures, stress, pain, diet, and medication (Kalat, 2016). Sleeping pills can also play a big role in insomnia due to the dependance and inability to sleep without them.

Scripture gives us some insight on sleep if you look throughout the Bible. You will find insight in Ephesians, 1 Corinthians, Isaiah, Psalms, 2 Timothy, and more. God explains that our body is a temple, that we must take pride in and nurture in Gods will. “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies” (King James Bible, 2019, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20). We must stand strong in the renewance of our bodies and rest when needed as it’s a masterpiece from God.

Sometimes this can be hard due to daily life, but we must try. I’m sure everyone has faced some sort of sleep issue within their life at one point in time, I know I have. I have experienced insomnia and sleep deprivation. Both caused a decrease in my health and caused multiple issues within my lifestyle. I was always tired; my diet was strange and unhealthy, and my mental status was weak and vulnerable. Thankfully, I was able to work through this to a certain point and regain some healthy practices when it comes to sleep. But knowing the effects of both, I want to advocate and share the true importance of sleep.

References

King James Bible. (2019). King James Bible Online. https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org

Kalat, J. (2016). Biology Psychology . Cengage Learning. https://ng.cengage.com/static/nb/ui/evo/index.htmldeploymentId=5820602456081258193857903038&dockAppUid=16&eISBN=9781337408257&nbId=2977808&snapshotId=2977808&