Why do we sleep? Who knows? Who cares?

Why do we sleep? Nobody knows!
There are many theories, ideas, traditions and explanations.
Medicine and Science describe the function of sleep, but not the reason why we sleep, as having to do with resting the body and muscles that we used through out the day. Or there are theories about memory consolidation, addressing psychological issues, establishing hormone balance. However, a simple, unique explanation or reason for sleep is not given.
Western Religions speak of the soul leaving the body, talking with Angels-Spirits-God, preparing for death, resurrection, or the afterlife. These explanations are very biased towards (usually exclusive) teachings, dogma, or doctrines derived from their Avatars, prophets, and messengers.
Eastern traditions discuss sleep as a "form of nourishment" for the body, or a "superaware" state, or another state of consciousness or preparation for death.
New Agers usually deal with the meanings of dreams and journeys to other realms.
Some say the reason for sleep is to satisfy sleepiness, that is, we sleep because we are sleepy?!
Still, a concise explanation eludes us.


The only animals that have trouble with sleep are those that are specifically bred for researching sleep disorders. Even snoring is rare in the animal kingdom, indeed, only one primate species and one type of bulldog snore! Animals do not seem to have problems sleeping, or at least they do not complain! Otherwise by now, at least in the USA, there were would an animal sleep clinic on every corner!
However, the majority of people who get insufficient sleep, either poor quality, poor quantity, or both, have a host of other complaints. These include fatigue, tiredness, achyness, cranky, irritable, moody, sad, depressed, anxious, forgetful, concentration problems, lack of enjoyment, impatience, intolerance, more physical illnesses, anger, and limited gratitude.
Experientially, one might say, that it appears that sleep helps regulate these physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual problems.OR, is it the other way around??!
Is it possible that having problems with the mind, body and spirit, or having these out of balance, causes poor sleep? Does having the mind, body and spirit all working well, and in balance result in great sleep?
Who knows? Who could know? Theologians, religionists, monks, New age spiritualist, pop psychologists, doctors, Sleep Medicine Specialists (that was me in my former profession!)???
How about finding out for yourself? Forget all you know about sleep, and try to know sleep...by rejecting all conceptual explanations of sleep in favor of the direct experience of sleep! Learn to view sleep accurately, without the obstructions of all your emotions or intellect! You might arrive at the same conclusion that Eric Chiles, author of the new book for insomnia, Zen and the Art of Sleep
that insomnia is an unnecessary form of suffering originating from one's own effort to obtain sleep. By applying Zen techniques to his insomnia, he overcame it by experiencing his sleep problem free of all distortions!! In essence, he quieted his thinking, and learned the art of seeing and direct experience of sleep and awake. And eventually he realized that sleep, dreaming, and awake are part of the same moving stream of consciousness, and that within this flow will come an inevitable bed-time moment of drowsiness, free to proceed naturally and without effort.
There is, therefore, no"why do we sleep." Sleep arrives simply because it makes sense!!
Gus

Choose to Sleep or Not- Choice vs. Choicelessness

There are only 2 ways to look at choice and choosing, either you are the chooser or you are not!
If you are the chooser, it has to be that you are ALWAYS choosing what you think is best for you at every instant. That is, what ever you are choosing to do, at the time of the choice, it has to be the best thing you can choose...or else you would choose something better. Later (after the fact), it may become obvious this was not a great choice, that something else would have been better. However, at the time the choice was made, it was the best choice you could make! Again, if you did not think so you would have chosen something else!
On the other hand, it maybe you are not the chooser; that all choices are made by your Higher Self/Spirit Guide/Soul/Divine Nature, but not by your "rational mind" or ego.
So, either you are always making the best choice you can, at all times, OR you are not choosing at all!! Either way, you may as well relax and know that all is well, at all times, for the choices made are always the best ones for you.
It follows, then, that if you are not sleeping tonight, you are making the best choice you can (or else you would choose to sleep), or your Higher Self/Spirit/Soul/God has made this choice for you!! Again, either way, you may as well RELAX....and know this is the best choice for you at this time! This is another way to "Surrender to Sleep" (see my prior post).
As an aside, this leads to the awareness that you can never blame yourself for what happens from these choices! But neither can you take credit!!! In addition you can neither blame nor credit anyone else for their choices. Life becomes peaceful.
So relax, all is well. You, and every one else, are doing your best at all times, whether you are asleep, awake or neither.
Personally, I choose to 'not choose!' I am pro-choicelessness!



Sleep easy or relax, and Discover the Gift of Sleep, Gus

WHAT TO DO WHEN NOT SLEEPING
How much sleep is enough? There is no one answer!! At best, the recommended amount is to sleep enough so that one functions optimally. This begs the question, “what is optimal fucntion?” It is difficult enough to know optimal physical function (no fatigue, “achyness”, tired feelings, etc.), and even more so, optimal mental or emotional fucntion. And then there is “spiritual functioning!!” To make things worse, the majority of sleep deprived persons are not aware of, or minimize their impaired functioning!!
So, how then, can these functions be measured and correlated to the amount and quality of one’s sleep?!?!?
Medical research does well to show that sleep deprivation contributes to stress, anxiety, memory problems, poor job performance, fatigue, pains, medical diseases (obesity, diabetes/glucose intolerance, heart disease), and psychological-psychiatric illnesses. Conversely, it is now well accepted that good sleep makes one healthier, smarter, and less stressed.
So why do so many skimp on sleep? The extra work accomplished instead of sleeping, (i.e. “burning the candles at both ends,”) is negated by the potential and real mistakes made due to less than optimal mental functioning!! There is a tendency to do less physical activity when sleepy, leading to more unhealthy behaviors, and the ability to handle stress lessens significantly after missing even a little sleep (e.g. new moms).
So, again why do so why do so many skimp on sleep? Any comments, ideas, suggestions, excuses, rationalizations, are welcomed.
But, after treating the sleep deprived, the sleep disordered, as well as just promoting healthy (or at least adequate) sleep, for 20 years, one thing is clear, most people were not following the advice to get more and better sleep!! There were many reasons, comments, ideas, suggestions, excuses, rationalizations, none of which were valid for more than a few nights!
But then I noticed that there were a few well balanced, calm, aware, and happy people that slept less than the recommended 7-8 hours per night. Although there are genetically determined sleep needs (ie natural short sleepers), these persons chose to do things differently when not sleeping. These activities included prayer, meditation, contemplation, and other activities that reduce thinking, whether with music, books, guided tapes, or with nothing.
This suggest to me that what is one does instead of sleeping contributes in a major way to how one feels, acts, behaves and performs during the day. Those that try to cram more work, school-work, chores, and such, are impaired, never seem to complete their work, and are cranky; those that pray, meditate, etc, accomplish abundantly, feel well, are happy, and are great people to be around!,
So, if you can’t sleep, don’t want to sleep, or think sleep is a waste of time, I suggest you take up the more spiritual activities, like prayer, journaling, meditation during the hours you are supposed to be sleeping. The short version of these suggestions is too calm down, slow your thinking, relax. You will feel better, healthier, sharper, and happier….and the rest of us will appreciate this!
For some specific ideas to help you with these suggestions, visit sleepcompass.com and Discover The Gift of Sleep
Sleep Well, Gus