The right quantity and quality of sleep is vital to a healthful lifestyle. Rest is a condition wherein the human body is permitted to recuperate, to heal, or reabsorb the natural forces that it has lost through the use and abuse of the body and mind.
Rest is the replenisher. Rest is extremely important for the sick. The sick should stay in a clean, well-ventilated room, with plenty of pure water to drink. If they get plenty of rest, this will likely be all they need to get well again.
Rest—An Essential for Growth
It is impossible to grow either physically or intellectually without rest. Work is an energy expending process. Rest following work is a building up and growing process. In these days of speed we seek concentrated excitement, concentrated activity, and concentrated business. We are constantly trying to beat time—to do more work in less time. This may make for worldly gain but it surely does not make for growth. Instead it tends to dwarf us, sapping our power.
During the day, the chief work of the body is done, but during the night, the body is revived, the muscles are built up, the brain tissue is restored, and the nerves are recharged. For growth and health, a sufficient amount of leisure and rest is essential.
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When the body is deprived of sleep, it is unable to rebuild and recharge itself adequately. There is an increase in irritability, while creativity, concentration, and efficiency suffer.
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Sleep deprivation impairs judgment, causing values and priorities to change. Continued loss of sleep can result in exhaustion, depression, delusions, paranoia, and hallucinations. Losing as little three hours of sleep in a single night can cut the effectiveness of your immune system in half.
Slowed reaction time and decreased concentration lead to an increase in accidents, both fatal and nonfatal. As many a 30% of fatal automobile accidents are caused by a driver falling asleep at the wheel. In a classic health study, it was found that people who regularly slept seven to eight hours each night had a lower death rate than those who slept less than that.
Do you nod off whenever you're not active, need an alarm clock to wake up, or sleep longer on your days off? If so, you are probably not getting enough sleep.
Updated January 2009.
by Katy Chamberlin