Friday, November 30, 2018

An Ode to Sleep

Since my last list of "Things I like/dislike" focused exclusively on the "dislike" end of the spectrum, I was anxious to come out with a second list, of a more optimistic bent.

But when I added the fifth item to my slowly growing tally, I realized it was such a like-worthy topic, it really warranted a whole post of its own. What's that topic? Well, if you read the title, you already know, but it's sleep.

Sleep is an underrated thing. While I have met a few high-schoolers (during my student-teaching days) who proudly listed sleep as one, if not their single most, favorite thing to do, I think that was more reflective of teenage angst (and disrupted circadian rhythms) than the values of the general public. Most adults who issue an opinion on the subject seem to think that sleep is nothing more than a nuisance.

I used to be one of them. As little as 5 years ago, I was bemoaning the 8.5 hours per night I had to spend sleeping, wondering what great things I could accomplish if I weren't wasting 1/3 of my day, every day, for the rest of my life.

Except that sleep is not, in fact, a waste. It is, by all scientific accounts, vital to health and happiness. Among the good things I've heard about a solid night of shuteye: It helps you form memories, it helps you repair your cells, it helps you maintain a healthy weight.

Over the years, I have come to accept my excessive sleep requirements—which is good, because in those 5 years, they've risen to around 10 hours a night. (Or maybe that's my body just trying desperately to catch up, because since we acquired two puppies in the course of 5 months, I haven't been able to get in a single night of uninterrupted rest!)

Who can sleep while this is constantly going on in their bed!?
I have finally changed into the angsty teenager I never was in my past (back then, one of my favorite things to do on the weekends was wake up at sunrise before everyone else, and tackle my day!)—now, sleep is definitely one, if not my single most, favorite thing for me to do. But the other thing that's changed, is I no longer feel bad about it!

I used to moon over the thought of what I could accomplish with one extra hour a day, but now I know the truth: the world is an overwhelming place, and I couldn't handle another hour of it anyway. What would I do with my extra hour? Probably spend it shopping online, brainlessly watching Netflix, or wandering aimlessly to the fridge again, hoping that this time there might be something tempting inside. Ha! Better to spend that hour in my bed, refreshing my mind and body for another run down the gauntlet tomorrow.

Sleep, I now know, is not the enemy, but a rare gift of from nature, a precious ambrosia, a medicine, and a refuge, and I mean to appreciate it rather than curse it! There is nothing quite like that slow divestment from daily concerns as you drift off into dreamland. There is no more peaceful feeling than that moment when you awake, conscious of nothing more than soft pillows and blankets around you, before the demands of reality set in. When else in life can something feel this good and still be good for you? Never!

So enjoy your sleep! Embrace it, love it, and never let anyone make you feel bad for demanding 9+ hours of it per night! Sleep may be a burden forced on us by our biology, but it's one burden we can truly be thankful to have!

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