Thoughts on Sleep

This is one I wrote for the July 2011 Relief Society newsletter, and one that I still need to remind myself of periodically:

In 1985, two mountaineers were on their descent from a peak in the Peruvian Andes. One climber, Joe Simpson, broke his leg, which led to him falling into a crevasse, and it was a miracle that he lived. The other, Simon Yates, after having to cut the rope the connected them, and believing that Joe had died, tried to understand how it had happened.

He decided it was that they had not had enough fuel. It should have been enough, but the ascent was slower than they had expected, and they were running out. Without fuel, they could not melt the snow and ice for drinking water, and were in danger of death by dehydration or hypothermia from trying to drink the unmelted snow. Because of this, they were going down faster than they could do safely, resulting in the broken leg. He came away understanding that we can’t always predict the fallout that will came from not taking proper care of ourselves.

It is easy to let the needs of others override your own, but you may leave yourself unable to serve friends, husbands, and children. It is like the airline instruction to put on your own oxygen mask before you assist others.

We too need proper hydration and warmth and nutrition, but I find that where I am most likely to cheat myself is sleep. There are simply not enough hours in the day, and there is always at least one more thing that needs to be done.

I have also found that nothing lowers my ability to cope as much as sleep deprivation (other than perhaps illness, which can be more likely to occur with sleep deprivation). The normal snags of life become unbearable without rest.

The Lord has given us a pattern to follow: “…retire to thy bed early, that ye may not be weary; arise early, that your bodies and minds may be invigorated.” (D&C 88:124)

As tempting as it can be to stay up late finishing odds and ends, it robs us of our invigoration the next morning. Short-term effects include decreased performance and alertness, memory and cognitive impairment, and increased risk of injury. Over the long term it can affect blood pressure, heart health, body weight, and mental health.

Instead, we can take sufficient rest, and find ourselves calm and alert and ready for anything. We will truly be able to run and not be weary, and walk and not faint.