D&C 88:124 on Sleep

[MorningStar]

The Word of Wisdom gives us a lot of good advice on how to be healthy and in the previous chapter, I have often thought of this verse:

124 Cease to be aidle; cease to be bunclean; cease to cfind fault one with another; cease to dsleep longer than is needful; retire to thy bed early, that ye may not be weary; arise early, that your bodies and your minds may be einvigorated.

I think we often overlook the importance of sleep (writes MorningStar at 12:44am). Years ago I was having a lot of unpleasant symptoms and it wasn't until I mentioned my sleep disorder to the neurologist that he said, "Aha!" and what I was experiencing didn't seem so mysterious anymore. He said it sounded like I wasn't getting any deep sleep, which is when your body recuperates from every day use. After many, many nights of that, it wasn't that odd to him that I had problems. Interestingly, I started sleeping a lot better when I got pregnant with our first son, finally sleeping through the night. Before that, it wasn't unusual for my husband to wake up in the middle of the night and just find me laying there staring, hoping to fall asleep soon.

One thing I noticed with my husband, as soon as he started working the graveyard shift in the Air Force, he gained weight. His diet didn't change, he was exercising more, but he still gained weight. There were times he had to get less sleep than he needed, but for the most part, he got enough sleep. I'm wondering if when you sleep is as important as how long you sleep.

When my babies were born, I was horribly sleep deprived and found I craved sugar, as if my mind thinks it will wake me up, but it doesn't, and I just crave more sugar and it's harder for me to get full for some reason. I lose weight during pregnancy, but once my babies are born, I gain weight despite denying my cravings, nursing a lot, and skipping meals frequently due to my babies screaming whenever I put them down.

I often wondered if there was a link between sleep and weight gain and it wasn't surprising when I saw a report on the news saying that a high percentage of moms gain weight because they tend to get less than 6 hours of sleep per night.

Here is an article I just found that's pretty interesting to me:

Sleep Deprivation Tied to Shifts in Hunger Hormones: Scientific American

I'm curious about your experiences with sleep and any other studies you might know about, especially those that might shed light on why it's important to go to bed early and get up early. Why would going to bed at midnight and getting up at 8am be much different than going to be at 9pm and getting up at 5am?

Also, what are your secrets to getting a good night's sleep? Or how has poor sleep impacted you? Just curious. I think good sleep is one health factor we forget about or don't notice until it catches up with us. Feel free to ramble like me! (Also, maybe there is some sort of spiritual influence when it comes to getting up early - seeing the rising sun maybe?)

[MorningStar]

P.S. One thing that impressed me when I slept in a tipi as a child when my aunt took my sister and I to a Native American rendezvous, is that the opening at the top faces East to greet the sun. I thought that was cool.

[MorningStar]

One more thing! I wanted to know what you thought ..... about ....... *yawn*

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz .......

[Prodigal_Son]

I find that "x" # of hours of sleep when I'm in bed by 10pm or so - is infinitely better than that same "x" # of hours beginning at 1 am. It's just not the same.

That being said, there aren't enough hours in the day, are there? I run off of about 5 hours a night, work a labor job... and it kills me. I feel like a zombie sometimes...

[Palerider]

I don't remember the persons name but he gave a talk once titled "Weathering the Storms of Stress" and in this talk he mentions the importance of sleep and how much sleep our bodies need.

[a-train]

As a seminary teacher with a three week old son, I can tell you I appreciate that verse.

-a-train

[SMG]

Actually, skipping meals can force your body into "conserve mode" which means it will store the calories it gets as fatty tissue, and that's a factor that can lead to weight gain, even if you aren't eating much. I know this from experience. Ugh.

I think circadian rhythms play a big part in getting sleep and being well rested. If your natural rhythm is to fall asleep at 10pm and wake up at 6am, then going to bed at 1am and getting up at 9am will leave you a bit groggier than you'd normally be.

Since going back to school, I've found if I don't get to bed at or before midnight, I'll be like a zombie the next day. It's kind of hard when you have so much material to study and all you do most days is study. I've had the occasional day where even the thought of touching my text books makes me want to cry.

[Misshalfway]

Sleep??? What's sleep?

(spoken by a parent. )

[tomk]

We struggle more with tempation when we go to bed late.

We have an easier time with tempation when we get up early.


Look at the words of the verse again:

124 Cease to be idle; cease to be unclean; cease to find fault one with another; cease to sleep longer than is needful; retire to thy bed early, that ye may not be weary; arise early, that your bodies and your minds may be invigorated.

One interpretation is:

We will

Cease to be idle;
Cease to be unclean;
Cease to find fault one with another;

If we:

Cease to sleep longer than is needful;
and
Retire to bed early, that [we] may not be weary;



If we:

Arise early

our

Bodies and [our] minds may be invigorated. [BY THE LORD]

[MorningStar]

Cool, Tom! Thanks!