5 November, 2024

The War on Sleep

by | 31 December, 2014 | 1 comment

By Jim Tune

Have you ever heard people brag about how little sleep they require? An article in The Spectator magazine highlighted this problem in modern America:

Our war on sleep is hard to miss. TV interviewers ask today”s hard driving achievers how long they sleep. . . . When the guest leaves, the interviewers bat the question around with each other, boasting about pulling “all nighters” or claiming “I”m OK with five,” revelling in a festival of one-down manship. If the standard recommendation of eight hours a night gets mentioned, it is treated with genial contempt.

Napoleon, Florence Nightingale, and Margaret Thatcher all got by on four hours sleep. Thomas Edison, inventor of the modern lightbulb, claimed to require only three hours of sleep a night. Any more than that, Edison said, would render a person “unhealthy and inefficient.”

JT DEC31_JNEdison”s idea that sleep was a sign of laziness refashioned the way the world worked. People who clung to their traditional sleeping schedules were considered unfit for life in the new, industrialized world.

After a 1994 earthquake knocked out power, residents of Los Angeles called police to report a strange “giant, silvery cloud” in the sky above them. It was the Milky Way. They had never seen it before. Los Angeles is so lit up at night that airplanes can see the glow of the city from more than 200 miles away. According to astronomers, 91 out of every 100 people live in an area affected by “light pollution,” which occurs when artificial lights make the night sky more than 10 times brighter than it would be naturally.

The introduction of bright lights during hours when it should be dark threw a wrench into the rhythms of life. As many as 100 million birds are killed by crashing into brightly lit buildings every year across North America. Biologists point to artificial light as a threat to the environments of many organisms. Researchers say that electric light at night messes up our circadian clock. Researcher Thomas Wehr states, “We”ve deseasonalized ourselves. We are living in an experiment that is finding out what happens if you expose humans to constant summer day lengths.”

Television came with its late-night variety shows. Experts say today”s obsession with gadgetry is a significant factor in troubled sleep. Forty-two percent of us use our phones before going to bed, and often sleep with the pings and ambient light these devices create.

Lack of sleep is not a badge of honor. Sleep is a normal part of our created humanity. Everyone gets tired, as the Scripture acknowledges: “Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall” (Isaiah 40:30).

I used to take pride in burning the midnight oil. Long days, long weeks, short nights. But Jesus slept whenever he needed to””even in a boat on a stormy lake. In Jesus, we see not only a pattern of sleep, but a concern that others should enjoy the same kind of rest.

There”s a moving statement at the beginning of the story of the feeding of 5,000 that reveals Jesus as compassionate leader. “Because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “˜Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest”” (Mark 6:31). And so they did.

Maybe you should too.

1 Comment

  1. john allcott

    Well…Jesus did spend an entire night in prayer. 🙂

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Latest Articles

Ministry Help Wanted

Recent postings: A director of campus ministry is needed at the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign). Stillwater (Pa.) Christian Church is looking for both a lead pastor and a youth pastor. Lexington (Ohio) Church of Christ is seeking a full-time senior minister. Norwin Christian Church in North Huntingdon, Pa., needs a full-time worship minister. Lycoming Christian Church in Linden, Pa., is seeking a minister of children, youth, and young adults. Michigan City (Ind.) Christian Church needs a senior minister. And more . . .

Stories

By taking these symbols of Jesus’ body and blood, we announce we believe there really was a Jesus, and he really did die for us and carried all our sins down to a grave . . .

Documentary Highlights Christian Response to Pandemics

Southeast Christian Church’s “Purpose in Pandemics” is a documentary that follows the response of the church to pandemics throughout history. The “Purpose in Pandemics” website also includes a study guide for small groups and individuals.

Used of God

I soaked up Sam Stone’s wit and wisdom during our lunches together. Afterward, I’d take notes about our conversations. After hearing of his passing, inspired by his wordsmithing, I felt compelled to share just a small part of his story.

Sam E. Stone: ‘He Tried to Speak the Truth in Love’

In memory and appreciation of our former editor, Sam E. Stone, who died early this week, we share this 2011 column from Christian Standard’s archives in which Sam discussed four Scripture verses significant to his life.

Elliott Library ‘Cornerstone’ Laid

Three Bibles of historical significance to Cincinnati Christian University were the first books place on the shelves during relocation of the George Mark Elliott Library.

The Death of Evil

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. saw in minority groups’ struggles for social equality in America a parallel with Israel’s bondage in Egypt. King envisioned God’s goodness would deliver the U.S. from the evil of segregation.

Mark Scott’s Greatest Kingdom Impact

Since I first enrolled at Ozark Christian College, Mark Scott has been my kingdom hero, and I’m not the only young preacher Mark has shaped. Over his 35 years at OCC, Mark has inspired generations of students.

‘Have We Plans for 1921?’

“All the Standard asks is the opportunity to serve, and it yearns to render in 1921 the greatest, finest, and best service of its history. . . .”

CCLF Concluding Strong First Year in Greater Cincinnati

In its first full year, the Christian Church Leadership Foundation has accomplished much to ensure Christian education and resources would continue to be available to people in the Greater Cincinnati area.

News Briefs for Dec. 9

Items from Timber Lake Christian Church (Moberly, Mo.), Choateville Christian Church (Frankfort, Ky.), Johnson University, and more.

My Counsel for Young Preachers

If I were counseling an aspiring young preacher fresh out of Bible college or seminary, champing at the bit to lead in the church, I would offer these three bits of advice.

My Memories of Marshall Leggett

By Ben Merold
As I think about Marshall Leggett, who passed away on March 2 at age 90, two personal experiences keep coming to my mind . . .

Powell Quintuplets Graduating from High School

When the Powell quintuplets were born in 2001, all of Kentucky celebrated, including Southeast Christian Church, where the Powells are longtime members. Now the quints are 18 and are all headed to the same university.

Reentry: It May Be Harder Than We Think

When the COVID-19 crisis eases, I anticipate that reentry is going to be harder than some people think. Churches, especially, need to prepare for this.

November 10 Study | I Pledge Allegiance

God’s people should be crystal clear about their allegiance. They play to an audience of one. So they must be very careful of other allegiances. For the believers in the seven churches, that meant coming out from the pagan influences of the culture.

November 10 | Discovery Questions

These Discovery Questions are for use with this week’s Lookout Bible Lesson, “The Battle is the Lord’s” (Revelation 17:1-2, 6, 18; 18:1-10), by Mark Scott.

Rescued

Each of us is an individual Titanic. We may, in our pride and self-sufficiency, think that we are uniquely grand and unsinkable. But each of us has already struck the iceberg of sin. It’s only a matter of time. But wait. God has provided a lifeboat for anyone who wants to be rescued.

Reasons to Be Grateful

Let’s honor God in this season as we give thanks for our blessings, as we celebrate our salvation, and as we take the gospel to the world.

Follow Us