"Rest"

May 18, 2014

     I want to speak to the importance of rest, and how vital getting sufficient, adequate rest can be to the well being of the mind, body and spirit.  It's 1:40 AM and only God knows how tired I am right now!  I'm so tired that as I was hitting the keys to write how tired I am, my hand got stuck and held down the w, and even though I nodded, for some reason I can't sleep.

     The human body needs a minimum of eight hours of sleep.  When the body doesn't get the proper amount of rest, it may show in other areas of our lives and it will have a negative impact on our day and we wouldn't even know to attribute our lack of adequate hours of sleep to a short temper, not being able to do your best on a test, or even taking the time to work out or go for a walk because we didn't have adequate sleep.

     Charles Czeisler, a sleep researcher at Harvard Medical School in Boston found that they have the "first direct experimental evidence at the molecular level" as to why we need sleep?  "The study showed that the brain has different functional states when asleep and when awake."  Our brains have two types of cells, the neurons that send signals to the brain and the glials that have cleaning channels around the neurons that keeps the cells healthy by washing away the toxic proteins and removing them from the brains circulatory system with a special, unique, clear fluid called cerebrospinal fluid that's transferred to the general circulatory system so that the liver can flush the toxins.

     Not having sufficient sleep will open us up to major health problems, such as:

* Heart Disease, Heart Attack, Heart Failure, Irregular Heartbeat
* Diabetes
* Stroke
* High Blood Pressure

     When we have a lack of sleep we may subject ourselves to depression, accidents, low sex drive, irritability, forgetfulness, rapid aging skin, and weight gain.

     As I'm going through radiation and chemotherapy, I've been asking myself the tough questions (Who?, What?, When?, Where? and Why?) in all areas of my health.  I am opening myself up to explore every avenue that the Holy Spirit puts on my heart.  I don't know that I would of ever put too much thought into my sleeplessness.  I would of eventually have fallen asleep, only to wake up the same day a little later to my detriment of a day.  By asking the tough questions, I've found that I needed to do some research and study the subject of sleep.  (Who'd of Thunk, Smile!)
     I see that I indeed my have a sleep disorder, I've learned that if you snore for long periods of time and in certain ways that indeed one may need to contact a sleep center and go get yourself checked out by a professional.  Not having good sleep throughout the night can and does attribute to weight gain or loss.  For someone like myself who's been battling my weight and health for years this kind of information has been most informative and clearly has been the prompting of the Holy Spirit that says in:

     Proverbs 4:4-8 "Let thine heart retain my words: keep my commandments, and live. Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth. Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee. Wisdom is the principle thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding!"

     I had a yard sale yesterday, as it's 4:29 AM and I'm not asleep yet from yesterday. While I'm looking into sleep, the pros and cons, I've discovered some natural solutions to getting a good night's sleep that may be helpful: (Always Consult Your Doctor Before Taking Any Remedy)

* Sleepytime Tea
* Organic Pure Concentrated Tart Cherry Juice
* Hot Bubble Bath w/Lavender Oil Drops
* L-Theanine


     I had a beautiful day yesterday as far as me shifting my thoughts and aligning my actions to being healthy eating properly, as well as stretching and getting on my elliptical bike.  I had put my stationary bike out for sale, and my elliptical, after I cleaned it up and of course I had to try it out, I again had to ask myself the tough question?  Lolita, is there any dollar amount worth you selling a machine that's valued at $3500-$6500 brand new (the computer doesn't work)?  Can you put a price on your health?  I had to ask myself the same question when it came to me trying to put a price on my stationary bike.

The answer is NO!!  My health is not for sale.  The Blessed Days God has given me left on this earth are NOT FOR SALE!!.............The Power of Choice!!

I got on my bike and my elliptical and worked out my own salvation before the Lord! 

     "Loving You More Than Forever, Lolita
and Forever More, I'll always Love You!!"
~By Lolita to Lolita

"Some of us seem to accept the fatalist position, the fatalist
attitude, that the Creator accorded to us a certain position and
condition, and therefore there is no need trying to be otherwise."
~Marcus Garvey

"No one need fear death. We need fear only that we
may die without having known our greatest power."
~Norman Cousins