Our bodies need rest, but it's the brain that needs sleep.  What happens in the brain makes the difference between resting and sleeping.  Merely resting can slow the heart rate and respiration, and decrease our adrenalin level.  However, it's the diminishing brain activity that causes us to go to sleep.  But even in sleep, the brain seems to need some stimulation, so that we all have dreams, even if we can't remember them.

A recent study of Japanese men has shown that working long hours without sufficient rest triples the chances of having a heart attack.  It's our brain that suffers most when we're deprived of sleep.  In sleep deprivation experiments there's little change in blood pressure, heart rate and reflexes.  However, people who are forced to stay awake find that by the second or third day, they experience memory loss and hallucinations.  When deprived of sleep, the brain presents us with delusions.

Paradoxically, it's the brain that keeps us awake.  Humans are unique in voluntarily spending more time awake than asleep.  Our highly developed brains are curious and sociable, and unlike other living creatures, capable of boredom.  With too much idling, a sensible dog or cat simply goes to sleep.  But our brains are greedy for stimulation, and they quickly drive us to find something new to pique our interest.

So next time you feel sleepy, give your brain a break.  And if you can doze safely, let it happen.

MOVING BEYOND MATTER
by Deborah Piggott

The fast paced, high tech world we live in operates 24 - 7.  Businesses and services from supermarkets to bus terminals are accessible around the clock.  Many professionals in the work force like policeman or nurses work rotating shifts.  Entertainment is available to us on TV or radio day and night and of course the internet never sleeps.

Despite modern technology we still trade valuable sleeping hours catching up on work and battling congested traffic.  We all need a certain number of hours of sleep each day to revive brain cells and other body systems so they'll continue functioning effectively.  

Lack of proper rest impairs our ability to handle stress, to maintain a healthy immune system, to moderate our emotions.  It may even cause us to become a hazard to ourselves and others if we operate machinery or drive during times of severe fatigue.

God knew what the lack of physical rest would do to the man He created and the Bible has a lot to say about rest.  God Himself rested on the seventh day after finishing His work of creation and He declared that Sabbath day holy.  (Gen 2:2-3)  

Have you ever considered the need for another type of rest - spiritual rest?  It is just as important and has some of the same consequences as lack of physical rest.  If our spirit is troubled don't we often react with indecision or irritability?  It is much easier to neglect spiritual nourishment then feeding our physical bodies.  Many studies have shown the damaging results of a regular intake of fast foods on our physical bodies.  The spiritual fast food diet that consists of passing thoughts of God and occasional rushed prayer places God farther and farther out of our busy lives.

Turning our hearts and minds to something of much greater value requires slowing down from the hustle and bustle of life.  Setting aside precious time for the spiritual nourishment and rest that God knows we also need.