pounded because we don’t have con sistency and rules whereby we all get our proper rest. Continuous stress from any source may be the cause of many major killer diseases. Lack of sleep itself is a stress. At Montreal’s Memorial Insti tute, prolonged sleep therapy was used in mentally ill patients who had re sisted all the forms of treatment. Of the 66 patients who underwent the therapy, 38 showed either marked or moderate improvement. Stress increases as the day goes on until a high point in the late after noon. If this point is reached day after day and week after week, the result may be disastrous. Some doc tors believe that if the business execu tive breaks at noon with a short nap, the tension curve drops below the base line and he awakens to the work of the afternoon refreshed. For many of us, however, this is not possible or practical. If the husband arrives home like a bear with a sore paw there is bound to be real problems in the family. In stead of looking expectantly to a joy ful, wholesome gracious husband, she finds somebody who is irritable and certainly not Christ-like. He may be kind to the people at the office but then he blows up when he gets home. Any little thing will bother him. This can sometimes be a spiritual problem but more than likely it is because of a problem of sleep without him getting his proper rest. You can’t do away with the sleep you need and keep your emotions well ordered. As one’s work load increases so does his need for sleep. The busier the per son, the more he should sleep. Unfor tunately, the exactly opposite usually happens. The same applies for the rest of us, particularly young mothers who are rearing young children. It is difficult for many people to store up enough energy every day with a single stretch of night sleep. Good sleep habits must be learned. Go to sleep at the same hour every night as much as is possible. Don’t eat a heavy meal before retiring. Don’t listen to the radio, watch the
TV, or read exciting books. Don’t get your mind active in various things, even some work which you may like. Try to remember what position you are in when you wake up in the morn ing and assume that position when you go to bed. Relax your muscles and body. Sleep should be sufficient to allow us to wake up spontaneously refreshed and ready to do a day’s work. Too many mothers and fathers get up every day with their nerves frayed, irritable, and lacking any joy of an ticipation. A little child may do some thing out of the way and they “blow up.” This does not make for good home life nor does it engender love. Many of the basic problems of life are rooted in the simple things which we refuse to accept. The laws of God are not repented of. The Lord made us so that we might live in a whole some joyful way. We are ready to try so many other things when we fail to do that which the Lord Himself has provided for us in simple rest and sleep. Those of us who are fathers should exercise the discipline and the guidance of our prerogatives in guid ing by example our own families. These are very basic things to con sider, however, the danger is that we tend to spiritualize everything rather than to look rationally at that which the Lord has ordained. Ask the Lord to reveal your own needs to you, con fident that through the power of His Holy Spirit you can have victory and not defeat or even mediocrity. Biola student Linda Marty checks over a book with Mr. Gerald Gooden, Biola College reference libra rian. Those who have books they would like to see used for the Lord are invited to contact Biola.
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