How much sleep is enough?

I have been wanting to write about this topic since one of the Mighty Men in my “Paul List" sent me this article from RZIM “Slice of Infinity" in the middle of last week. I told him I'd blog about my response when I have time, and I've not been able to start the blog post until now – when I got up at 0445 because my 5 yr old son (Gideon) climbed into bed next to me, and my wife got up to feed my other son (baby Boaz). Of course I needed to first pray, reply to emails, run on the treadmill, and do my daily Bible reading (Judges 13-16: Samson – AWESOME!) before I blogged, and now everyone is up again before 7 on a Sunday mornings! Looks like we should have no trouble getting to church on time, eh?!

So in the battle for enough sleep, I must be very careful when I articulate these points because some people will take this personally and might get offended if I come across as sternly objective in my conclusions and unwavering. Anytime I write about these subjective issues, I must caveat my statements with: “this works for me and I am by no means proposing a one size fits all solution!" or in this case a “one time period fits all." I agree that modern medicine and research including sleep studies state that the average individual requires 8 hours of sleep per night. What I disagree with is the notion that we are all average. I also agree with the rules of my career, namely Marine and Naval aviators must get 8 hours of uninterrupted rest before flying. Lastly, I've been blessed with the ability to sleep through just about anything, and so my quality of sleep is usually good which makes up for the limits I place on its quantity. So now that I have added all of those qualifiers to what I am about to say, please bear with me as you will most likely disagree with at least one point I'll make.

I usually start out the discussion with people in regards to sleep with this opinionated statement: “The body only requires a certain amount of sleep to function and the mind thinks you require more." I use the example of Navy SEALs during hell week when they perform excruciating tasks with barely a single nights worth of sleep, and I talk about how you and I feel tired in the afternoon after lunch even if we've gotten 8+ hours of sleep the night before. Some might interject here, “now wait, the mind requires the sleep too!" And I would agree, I'd just say, the SEALs go through mental challenges that week as well, and how many times have you made mental mistakes when you have had the recommended hours in bed? — That will hopefully be the last interruption I give myself as I complete the thought. — I continue with my Scriptural basis for the idea of “enough sleep" with two questions based on the one conditional: if it is true that the body requires a certain amount and the mind thinks you need more – 1) What are we suppose to do with our bodies? and 2) What are we suppose to do with our minds?

I use Romans 12:1-2 as the foundation for my views on how much sleep is enough. I also balance my view of sleep with two OT verses: Proverbs 24:33-34 and Psalm 127:2 which I've linked so you can reference them. As I understand the Romans passage, I am to present my body as a living sacrifice and I am to be transformed by the renewing of my mind. I remember another of Paul's letters where he says “I discipline my body and bring it into subjection…" and there's other verses about taking “thoughts into captivity" and having the “mind of Christ" which I also think can apply to this war in the mind for more sleep.

Now I've heard about people in the secular culture who preach limiting sleep in order to get ahead in this world. I read a book by Robert Kiyosaki and Donald Trump about 5 years ago in which Trump challenges the reader to “imagine what you could get done if you had 2 or 3 extra hours each day to read or work…" and my friend down in flight school sent me a YouTube video from a coach's viewpoint about success – 3 minutes into it sleeping less (or not at all) is mentioned as a method to become more successful. These two examples are what that Slice of Infinity article is challenging, but I really don't think the problem among Christians is that too many of us are limiting our sleep! Honestly, I think laziness is much more of a hindrance to pursuing Christ-likeness. But if the author of that RZIM article can show me in Scripture where Jesus challenged people to sleep more or showed His disciples how to add more hours of rest to their days, then I would warm up to his thesis. However, I think Christ's calls to come and take His yoke and find rest, weren't exactly encouragements to sleep-in a couple extra hours. And when He delayed in coming to Lazarus until he was dead, I don't think Jesus was kicking back for a few extra Z's.

The bottom line for Christians is that, contrary to popular belief, the Bible is NOT silent on ANYTHING!!! If you want to know how much sleep you need, go to the Scriptures! If you want to know how to live out any area of your life other than sleep, go to the Scriptures! – For in the Bible are all the answers to all of life's questions and if you don't seek answers in God's Word, you will not have the answers God gives.

Peace,
Adam

PS: full disclosure, my stated goal is to get a minimum of 6 hours per work day and 7 hours on Sunday, but I don't always hit that nail on the head! Sometimes after getting only 5 hours a few days, I'll crash and sleep 8 or 9, but it's about having goals and making the most of every opportunity – which every morning is a new opportunity for me – that's why I don't call the device that wakes me up an “alarm clock" thanks to Zig Ziglar I call it an “opportunity clock!"

Linked verses, in addition to the references given I've linked the following:

1 Corinthians 9:27 (parallel ref)
2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (study article)
1 Corinthians 2:16 (website based on this verse)
Matthew 11:28-29 (ESV)
John 11:6 (HCSB)
2 Tim 3:16-17 (NIV)
Also used the NKJV, NLT and YLT for the Romans 12:1-2 passage

PSS: full disclosure pt 2 – its 9AM now and everyone is back in bed (including Gideon, well, he was… with me on the floor of his room) looks like our punctuality to service is again in question! Ah, they all need more sleep! 🙂