Peter, James, and John, weighed down with sleep…at the worst possible time. There, in front of their very eyes, Moses and Elijah talking with Jesus, who has transformed into what would surely be a convincing ad for Tide. And Abram, a deep sleep fell upon him, right after God had promised the impossible and at the exact time God was going to confirm His great covenant with him. Or, perhaps you’ve been in a meeting (or at church), when sleep became so overwhelming, you find yourself thinking “I’ll just close my eyes for a minute” only to be jolted awake by your nodding head? Timing is everything; unfortunately, with sleep, the timing is often off.
One of the (many) changes we experience as we get older, is a disruption in our sleep cycle. Right after a return to India, I found myself surprisingly awake at 4:00 am. Jet lag, I assumed, until this pattern became a permanent nightly/early morning event. Very disturbing, both physically and mentally; all those studies warning of the correlation between lack of sleep and a whole host of additional ominous conditions that would plague the aging body. Melatonin, a sound machine, a sleep mask to keep out all traces of light, camomile tea, turn off the screen, yoga for sleep…and finally one tiny pill that solved the much too early wide-wake up (thank you, God, and the medical community).
So, blessedly, I sleep until a decent hour every morning, falling easily back asleep after the mid-night bathroom break (another inconvenient bodily change.)
However, now getting to sleep has become an issue. As a lifelong worrier, I’m surprised that the issues that concern me during the day, the global chaos, and the political mess at home, don’t seem to bother me at night. No, my mind continues crazily racing from one innocuous thought to another- mostly mundane events of the day. The tiredness, sleepiness, and ready-for-bedness while on the couch all evaporate the minute my head hits the pillow. And so I deep breathe (until I forget) and meditate successfully for 30 seconds before a distracting thought tugs at my mind. Thrown into the mix is the self-fulfilling prophecy, the anxiety before getting into bed, “How long will it take to fall asleep tonight?” I am fortunate, though, in that this doesn’t continue on for hours; but I’d really just prefer to fall immediately into a blissful sleep. Ah, hope springs eternal...
I wonder about David, who so often seemed completely at peace, trusting in his conviction that God was his protector, shield, refuge. “I lie down and sleep; I wake again because the Lord sustains me.”, “In peace, I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety.” I wonder, even as Saul and countless enemies pursued him relentlessly, did David spend more nights lying awake or peacefully snoring? “I am worn out from my groaning. All night long I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears.” David seemed to be quite accomplished at meditation, so maybe that was his “go-to” strategy as he lay on the hard cold floor of the cave?
What keeps me from sleep? William Shakespeare so succinctly captured it in his Sonnet 27:
Weary with toil, I haste me to my bed,
The dear repose for limbs with travel tired;
But then begins a journey in my head
To work my mind, when body’s work’s expired …
— cmshingle
One of the (many) changes we experience as we get older, is a disruption in our sleep cycle. Right after a return to India, I found myself surprisingly awake at 4:00 am. Jet lag, I assumed, until this pattern became a permanent nightly/early morning event. Very disturbing, both physically and mentally; all those studies warning of the correlation between lack of sleep and a whole host of additional ominous conditions that would plague the aging body. Melatonin, a sound machine, a sleep mask to keep out all traces of light, camomile tea, turn off the screen, yoga for sleep…and finally one tiny pill that solved the much too early wide-wake up (thank you, God, and the medical community).
So, blessedly, I sleep until a decent hour every morning, falling easily back asleep after the mid-night bathroom break (another inconvenient bodily change.)
However, now getting to sleep has become an issue. As a lifelong worrier, I’m surprised that the issues that concern me during the day, the global chaos, and the political mess at home, don’t seem to bother me at night. No, my mind continues crazily racing from one innocuous thought to another- mostly mundane events of the day. The tiredness, sleepiness, and ready-for-bedness while on the couch all evaporate the minute my head hits the pillow. And so I deep breathe (until I forget) and meditate successfully for 30 seconds before a distracting thought tugs at my mind. Thrown into the mix is the self-fulfilling prophecy, the anxiety before getting into bed, “How long will it take to fall asleep tonight?” I am fortunate, though, in that this doesn’t continue on for hours; but I’d really just prefer to fall immediately into a blissful sleep. Ah, hope springs eternal...
I wonder about David, who so often seemed completely at peace, trusting in his conviction that God was his protector, shield, refuge. “I lie down and sleep; I wake again because the Lord sustains me.”, “In peace, I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety.” I wonder, even as Saul and countless enemies pursued him relentlessly, did David spend more nights lying awake or peacefully snoring? “I am worn out from my groaning. All night long I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears.” David seemed to be quite accomplished at meditation, so maybe that was his “go-to” strategy as he lay on the hard cold floor of the cave?
What keeps me from sleep? William Shakespeare so succinctly captured it in his Sonnet 27:
Weary with toil, I haste me to my bed,
The dear repose for limbs with travel tired;
But then begins a journey in my head
To work my mind, when body’s work’s expired …
— cmshingle
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