Sweet Dreams

Sweet Dreams

You can go to bed without fear; you will lie down and sleep soundly. Proverbs 3:24

Many in our nation are becoming caffeinated insomniacs, and research shows that the people who have the hardest time sleeping are women. Our lives are so busy, our days so packed, that we often sacrifice sleep in an attempt to get everything done, and thus deprive our bodies and brains of needed rest. New research shows that women who sleep less than five hours a night are more likely to become obese. What’s the connection? As we sleep, a hormone called leptin, a major factor in controlling appetite, rises in our system. So when we don’t get enough sleep, the lower leptin level causes us to be hungrier and eat more.

Besides making us cranky and tired, lack of sleep also causes increased fatigue, hostility, and less attentiveness on the job, and our appearance suffers too. Our moms were right when they said, “Get your beauty sleep.”

One of the benefits of being God’s child is peaceful sleep: “I lay down and slept, yet I woke up in safety, for the LORD was watching over me” (Psalm 3:5). Our bodies and souls can rest and confidently dwell in God because we know that the One who never slumbers cares for us and restores us while we rest.

If you are having trouble getting enough sleep to function at your best, let me encourage you to take some practical steps to help yourself: Give yourself time to “parachute down” at night. Take a warm bath. Avoid caffeine at night, and relax during the last half hour of your day instead of working until you turn out the light. Give God your cares and worries, because it’s hard to enjoy pleasant sleep when you’re worrying about your problems. Meditate on today’s verse, and ask God to give you the gift of sleep that he promised his loved ones (see Psalm 127:2) so that you’ll wake up with a new lightness in your step. Sweet dreams!

—CHERI

Father, I thank you for peaceful sleep, for you promised that those who love and trust you will rest confidently in you. I ask you, Jesus, to keep Satan from interfering with my sleep or harming my dreams, and I entrust myself to your loving care.

When you have accomplished your daily task, go to sleep in peace; God is awake.

—VICTOR HUGO (1802–1885), FRENCH POET, NOVELIST, AND DRAMATIST