Lockdown 318

Lockdown Day 318 - 7 February 2021

We spent the day enjoying a late coffee followed by an early hamburger lunch with Charmiane, enjoying the slow and restful nature of a Sunday. The ongoing rainy weather dotted with a few pockets of momentary sunshine, afforded us time for spiritual replenishment and physical rest we often don't afford ourselves when out and about, tending to the house and garden. Although time in the sun and nature has its benefits, physical rest is often last on our self-care list of priorities.

Although caring for our spirit is paramount and for our soul necessary, a lot of that hinges on giving our bodies the physical rest it needs.  That is the medicine for restoration and replenishment of all bodily systems. We all know how it impacts our day to day life when we aren't well rested. It is a well known fact that your mind and spirit can generate stress or health to your body, based on your thinking alone. In the same way a well-rested body can impact the mind. 

Our physical brain also needs adequate rest for us to be at optimal working potential. A sleep deprived brain can trigger a breakdown in our immune system which can have devastating consequences. In fact, new studies have confirmed that only one night without sleep can trigger the build-up of a protein associated with Alzheimer's disease. 

The brain is cleansed while we sleep, getting rid of waste products such as clumped misfolded proteins associated with the ageing process that is deposited in the brain. Less sleep means more of these toxins that can cause breakdown of brain tissue.

Russell Foster, director of the Sleep and Circadian Neuroscience Institute at the University of Oxford says, "Sleep is the best cognitive enhancer we’ve got, but we’re doing a very poor job translating this information across to the health community and it seems extraordinary to me there are no proper educational packages that teach kids about the importance of sleep.” 

There you have it. Although everyone instinctively know they and their siblings need sufficient and quality sleep, we still pretty much ignore this bodily requirement we have been designed with.

So tonight I retire with a picture of my brain taking out the trash while I sleep, and vow to give more attention to my design and to react when prompted to rest (or to plan my day accordingly). To me, this is a form of obedience to my Creator. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, "Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s. "

#Ggt