The body was designed to work and be fruitful, but at the end of it all, to also rest. Sleep particularly is very important for the body to function optimally. Sometimes, the biggest health challenges that people experience are caused by a lack of sleep.
The body simply wasn’t given enough time to recharge and regenerate its cells. Sleep also helps to improve focus, memory and mental acuity. Sometimes, the better option is really just to sleep rather than to spend the whole night studying.
Plan ahead and ensure you don’t have to sacrifice your sleep for last-minute work. That way, you will perform even more excellently. It is recommended that we sleep for 6-8 hours daily to be healthy.

This may not be possible every single day, however, we should make time to sleep most times. For people that find it difficult to sleep i.e. you really want to sleep but your eyes are wide open, it could be one of 2 things:

1. The Holy Spirit wants you to pray.

2. Your sleep hygiene is not up to scratch. Sleep hygiene mostly has to do with our daily habits when it comes to sleep. To improve your sleep hygiene:
a) Do not work on your bed. This helps your brain to separate work from sleep.
b) Try to sleep at the same time every day and wake up at the same time every day. “Sleeping in” or getting in a few extra hours on a weekend is not helpful because it disrupts your sleep cycle and you find yourself waking up tired during the week.
c) Limit your caffeine intake and stop caffeine from 2-3 hours before bedtime every day.
d) A nap is 20 minutes or less. Anything more is no longer a nap. Daytime naps should be less than 20 minutes otherwise the sleep cycle is affected.
e) Don’t take sleeping pills long-term. I’d actually lean towards not taking them at all because they disrupt the sleep cycle to the point where people are unable to sleep on their own which creates an unnecessary dependence on them.
f) Take stress and anxieties out of life because they cause a special type of insomnia called terminal insomnia where people wake up in the middle of the night and are unable to go back to sleep because they stay up worrying.
 

For a truly amazing day where you feel so wonderful, full of energy, and mentally sound with no stress-inducing chronic illnesses, you have to sleep and rest.
Contributor: Dr Ayobami Oduntan
(VMC Mafikeng, South Africa}