undividedspirit

From time to time, I, like many others, struggle with insomnia. It is my understanding that more and more people regularly medicate for sleep by using sleeping pills and marijuana. This is, according to recent studies, a growing condition among modern-day humans. There are also many studies that confirm that sleeping less than 6-8 hours a night affects us mentally, emotionally and physically. Insomnia has been linked to depression, to weight gain and work productivity. I can tell you from personal experience that I am a better everything if I’ve slept well. I’ve used sleeping pills, and admittedly still keep some on hand, just in case, but, when I, finally, took this problem to God and His word it was interesting to see what He says about sleep in the Word and what He helped me to understand by His Word. Maybe, like me, you think/ thought that this isn’t a God-size issue or maybe, like me, you haven’t wanted to hear what God would say about your sleeping habits. The bible is clear that God gives us sleep. Psalm 4:8 “In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety”. At various times in the bible, God gave dreams or took sleep from someone to serve His purposes. So I started to analyze why I, and other people, struggle with sleep.

The first reason that I see in my own life, and the lives of my friends and family, is that an uneasy conscience keeps us from peaceful sleep. If we know what we should be doing and we aren’t. Like if we know Jesus is calling us in to faith in Him and we resist Him. Or when, you are saved by Jesus Christ and you have the Holy Spirit living inside you and you know you are sinning/ have sinned you can get no rest till you have repented and turned from your sin/ made things right. I will give you some examples from my past: if you are a Christian and are living with a man who is not your husband, don’t expect an easy conscience and therefore don’t expect to consistently get a good night’s sleep. Or if, you took something that didn’t belong to you, even if the other person wouldn’t notice, or potentially even mind, until you tell the truth and offer to make things right, don’t expect to be at peace. As Christians, we need to deal with our own sin and walk in the light. If like me, you get tired of saying sorry, every single day, consider that Martin Luther, the German monk who sparked the Protestant Reformation, believed that: “the whole life of believers should be repentance”. 

Others’ sins against you can also keep you awake. Stress keeps you awake at night. Deep sorrow and grief too. What is the remedy for these? Phillipians 4:6 & 7 says: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” Isaiah 26:3 “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast because they trust in you.” Psalm 46:10 “Be still, and know that I am God.” The best way I have found with these “soul conditions” is to seek Him. To ask Him how to handle my problem and to study the scriptures. The bible is incredibly practical. For example, if work problems are keeping you up: Colossians 3:23 “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.” And, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time, we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” Galatians 6:9. We need to do our part, which is laid out for us in the word of God. Then, God will do His part. If someone plots against us, we can know, if we have done no evil, that the Lord sees and hears and He will repay everyone according to what they have done. We also can know that no one has any power against us or over us that the Lord has not allowed. Romans 8:28 says: And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” The evil done, or being done to you, whether being unfairly treated at work, or being in relationship with someone who is jealous of you, whatever it may be, is part of God working for your good. We need to stop thinking all of life is easy and we will never experience hardship. That just isn’t real life. Hebrews 12 tells us to treat hardship and discipline. And yes, in case you are tempted to ask, you do need discipline.

What about physical reasons about why we lose sleep? This is the no-brainer that very seldom do we want to put in to practice. These physical issues that keep us from a good night’s sleep are made up of simple lifestyle changes that are challenging to put in to practice. It takes discipline (not that again!) and it takes perseverence (also one of my least favorite words to look up in a concordance), to do the right thing, day after day, month after month, and year after year.

Physical solution to sleeping well number one will have to be, eating right. “You are what you eat.” “What you put in is what you get out.” If you eat junk you will feel like junk. What is good nutrition?  It is actually fairly simple, and pretty obvious, but has been over-complicated by so many “fad” diets. A balanced diet is enough fruit and vegetables, some protein, good fats and complex carbohydrates. The closer it is to nature, the better for you. I find what works for me and when I do this, I stay slim and have more energy. (I am coming out of a bad season of poor choices, we moved house, I have a toddler… Anyway, enough excuses! Time to get my A into G. This is helping me, so I help it helps you too…):
A smoothie for breakfast with spinach, berries, unsweetened almond milk and half a banana. Or, I have full fat yoghurt with berries and a sprinkle of raw seeds and nuts. I am hungry at about 10am so I will have 2 boiled eggs (I should only have one egg – new resolution) on 1 slice of rye/ health loaf or cheese on crackers with olives or gherkins (pickles for my American friends).
For lunch (around 1pm) I eat a small green salad with chicken breast, sometimes I add half an avocado and my dressing is always olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper.
At 4pm I have an apple, a few slices of cheese and a few health crackers.
For dinner, we eat a bunch of different things, often a big tray of mixed, roasted vegetables drizzled with olive oil and a protein of some kind: chicken thighs, steak, pork tenderloin. We eat a lot of soup in winter which my husband has with bread. I harness all my willpower and, sometimes, I don’t eat the bread. I make shepherds pie with sweet potato mash/ cauliflower mash toppings. The shepherd’s pie recipe I use is found here. I am trying to be more creative with what I make for dinner for my family. Toddlers are so finicky and mine often won’t eat the same thing two days in a row. My husband doesn’t particularly like fish so I haven’t been eating any fish. That’s also going to change.
There are loads of inspiring recipes out there. Just google “healthy and quick dinner ideas” and boom.  I try not to eat chocolate/ ice cream/ cookies and if I must have a treat I have a couple squares of quality dark chocolate, like Lindt.

Physical solution to sleeping well number 2: drinking enough water. We all know we need to drink 6-8 glasses of water a day, so I do that. I am always thirsty so I don’t struggle to do this but I know many other people do struggle to drink enough water. I won’t say too much on this subject, except, you know what you need to do so just do it already. Monitor your caffeine intake. I drink two really strong coffees a day but I find if I drink coffee after noon it affects my sleep. After 6pm I stick to herbal teas and find a sleepy-time/ chamomile tea an hour before bedtime seems to help me sleep better. Practice moderation with your alcohol use. Doctors recommend no more than 14 units of alcohol per week. A unit is a 25ml serving of spirits and 175ml of wine. My glass of wine is probably 1,5 units of alcohol and coming off the back end of the festive season I have been drinking too much wine. I drank a couple glasses every night for a whole month. Drinking like this makes me put on weight, makes me tired, messes with my moods and demotivates me with my eating, exercise, and being patient with my toddler. I find that if I drink a glass or two one night, I am more inclined to drink a glass or two the next night, then the following week, instead of a glass or two, I will have two glasses, week three I will occasionally say yes to a third glass. The more I drink, the more I want to drink, until I pull the eject cord and say, “enough”. I never drink sodas or juice. I like to have my calories in a more decadent format, like ice cream. Diet soda is toxic to your body but I enjoy club soda/ fizzy water, whatever you call it, plain or with a slice of lemon.

Physical solution number 3: exercise. Exercising as a stay-at-home mom, on a budget, can be difficult because there is always so much else to do but I have found I can commit to 20-30 minutes of exercise per day. With Youtube there is always a routine to inspire me, whether I have a lot of energy and do a H.I.T. workout; or if I have backache/ I’m not feeling good (after a bad night’s sleep) then I will do a yoga stretch routine. I do at least 20-30 minutes of exercise Monday to Friday and take two days off on the weekend. We try do active outdoor stuff as a family on the weekend anyway, kicking a ball at the park, taking a walk, etc.  Stretching is so important if you struggle with sleep. I find stretching daily really helps me in so many areas, sleep included.

Your bedtime routine may also need a shake up. Watching a violent, explicit movie before bed is not going to quiet the mind. In fact, if you think about it, why we feel the need to watch TV every night is quite strange. It is a waste of time, it is usually unwholesome and often disturbing, and it shuts you off from your family (ok, that one can be a blessing I agree). I am not being crazy about this but really, why can’t TV be occasional? I have been convicted of what I watch many times. I get FOMO so when there is a new show everyone is raving about, I’m like: I want to know what it’s about. So I start to watch it and long after the Holy Spirit is like, “Woah”, I try to keep going because I enjoy some aspects of what I am watching. I find it disappointing that there is very little TV I can watch without grieving the Holy Spirit but maybe there is a reason for that. Maybe God has allowed 90% of TV to be ungodly because godly people can use their time better?

Sleep was designed by God and it is His blessing to us, and like all His blessings it is meant to be treated with gratitude and with respect. Romans 12:1-2 says to “…offer our bodies (our whole bodies, including, and not limited to: our stomachs, our eyes, our backs, our legs, our minds) as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship. Then you will be able to test and approve (your choices, habits and pastimes)  what God’s will is – His good, pleasing and perfect will.” If we live life like God intended us to live it then we will more fully enjoy His blessing of sleep to us.