“Our culture does not value rest!”

Our culture does not value rest.  That was a comment that kept coming up when i listened to a recent podcast by Michael Hyatt.  I have a few electronic mentors that influence my life, and Michael Hyatt is one such mentor.  He is now an independent consultant, but spent his career in publishing, worked his way up to the editor in chief of Thomas Nelson publishing.  He is a wealth of information on practical subjects.

As an full time employee, full time artist, and wife I have to tell you that sleep sometimes is sacrificed for production, and for getting the job done.  We have cycles where the demand for our product is greater, or we work hard to build up stock for shows and shops.  Sleep has been something i crave, yet for the press of continuing it takes a back seat.   And quietly i am realizing how important sleep is to well being.  Michael’s pod cast helped to nail down a few thoughts regarding this:

1. Sleep keeps you sharp.  That 8 hours per night serve to recharge, and energize the body, but more than that it is serves to revitalize your thoughts and your mind.   He commented that one study indicated  sleeping less than 6 hours a day has been tested in the labs and people with this level of sleep deprivation can appear to act as impaired as someone who has been drinking and is legally drunk.
2. Sleep improves your ability to remember, learn and grow.  There is a process of regenerating and renewing our brain cells and memory process.  An interesting face he gave was that memory loss is more an impact of sleep deprivation and tiredness than a neurological aging process.
3. Sleep refreshes our emotional state.  I can attest to the thought that a good night of sleep brings a fresh perspective.  Recently i was in an emotionally dark place because of several situations i observed, and that evening it was nearly impossible to pull out of it.  I went to sleep early, got a great night of sleep and in the morning everything was in a fresh perspective.  Emotions and fear do rise when we are stressed, or tired. Be aware, dont act on emotions when you are feeling tired.  (I wrote before about the HALT – do nothing when you are hungry, angry, lonely or tired because these factors skew the truth.)
4. Sleep repairs our physical body.

Sleep, it is not an option, but a vital part of being a vital person.  As an artist i can identify with the idea that creativity and productivity are impared when sleep is reduced.

If you would like to follow Michael Hyatt, his website is www.michaelhyatt.com