What comes to mind when I hear the word sleep is rest, it's that time we surrender ourselves for nature to take its course. When talking about the things humans can't survive without, it surprises me when people leave sleep out of the list.
Sleep is the most important form of rest and its impact can be felt positively or negatively depending on how we embrace or struggle with it when the body demands it. I have seen people who do not place much importance on it but it is inevitable and it is so powerful that it can forcefully cease your body whether you want it or not.
I do not have a fixed sleeping pattern but I usually see the consequences of depriving myself of sleep. I was a very heavy sleeper when I was a kid, I force myself to stay up more than usual at night so I become very exhausted and slept very deeply. Setting an alarm then to wake me up was a complete waste of time because no matter how loud it rings, it wouldn't even make me turn but as I grow up, things changed.
After secondary school, I had to work and my sleeping pattern changed from that point. The environment was great for work but not for rest, we have limited space to lay our heads because I go home only on weekends and not laying comfortably changed everything. I barely slept for 3 hours throughout the night which wasn't good for me due to the nature of my job and because I wasn't okay with the environment, a slight sound can interrupt my sleep. During the day, I usually take an hour nap twice, and surprisingly, I am even more productive than people who sleep properly over the night because I feel much stronger every time I wake, and understanding how important sleep is for my body won't make me struggle with it.
My job then made me a light sleeper and somehow, I haven't been able to return to the heavy sleeper that I was. As of now, I don't wait until night before I sleep, I force myself to sleep as soon as I feel exhausted which might happen during the day.
Sleeping is my quickest form of recovery whenever I am down, the same me who can't do anything now will surprise you after even a short sleep. It helps me heal mentally, physically and even tells me what my relationship with God looks like.
Sleep and mental health.
Sleep has a big impact on my mental health, depriving myself of sleep makes me break down mentally. I love to write and it has become a very easy thing for me to do,would interest you to know that when I feel sleepy and I force myself to write, I can't write anything.
It ruins my mood and I don't feel good in any way. I can't interact with people, read or do anything that has to do with mental reasoning and until I sleep, nothing changes.
The connection between sleep and my mental health is strong and many times, I have relied on it to keep myself in the right state of mind.
Sleep and physical health.
My physical health is strongly attached to sleep as well and just like my mental health is affected when I don't sleep, my physical health is also affected.
Not sleeping causes me to be weak and I find it hard to wear a good look whenever I am due for sleep and I refuse to. After a day or two of inadequate sleep, my blood pressure triggers and that tells how important sleeping properly is for me. When my body says now, I don't say later and when the environment or the situation of things at that moment doesn't allow me, it becomes a problem because I lost the real me.
Sleep and spiritualism.
I am a very spiritual person and nothing comes above my relationship with God. Since I was a child, I usually dream a lot and some of these dreams came to reality.
I believe dreaming is a gift and it is a way the holy spirit reaches out to me but it can't happen without me sleeping. Whenever I am struggling with something and I am praying to God, I force myself to sleep because I have the belief that the holy spirit is going to communicate with me in my dreams. Whenever I don't dream for a long time, I begin to worry if I have done something that has made the holy spirit stop telling or showing me things.
One hour nap can go a long way for me and I am a completely new person after sleeping. A few things can prevent me from sleeping and they are,
Finding myself in a new environment: Until I find out that the new environment is safe for me to sleep in, I won't fall asleep. This happens naturally, and even though I force myself, it won't come until I feel like it is okay to sleep.
Whenever my heart is troubled, I find it hard to sleep. It could be anything bothering me and whenever it pushes me to the point where I can't sleep, I become scared of what may happen after.
Things that help me sleep easily when I am having challenges sleep;
Music helps me relax and even when my heart is troubled, it can help me sleep. I have a playlist that does this magic whenever I need it, good music helps me sleep.
Whenever I exercise, my muscle relaxes and it helps me to sleep.
I don't drink alcohol always but whenever I do, it makes me sleep very well.
Good sex is not exempted, it helps me to sleep very well.
Sleep is natural for everyone and it's best when we embrace it because our proper functionality as humans depends on it to an extent.
This is a contest open for everyone organized by @anttn and you can see everything you need to know about the contest [here], I am looking forward to reading your entry.
