How much sleep is too little and how much sleep is too much?

Sleep....just hearing these words makes me sleepy!  As a homeschooling mom, I find it difficult not to stay in bed if the kids are still asleep.  I have a schedule of all of the things that I believe the Lord wants our family to accomplish in a day.  I have a personal calling to homeschooling.  So why do I sleep in at times, knowing I have things to do? 

I love sleep!  I think laziness can even be attributed to it as well.  For me, I think a lot of it is that "me time" that I often think I'm "entitled" to.  It's hard to make it to the bathroom without a little one knocking at the door, so when I'm in bed, that's "me" time.

While many people will tell me that I "deserve" some "me" time, it's just not true.  Our culture has pampered us and taught us that it's "okay" to rest and do it in the most relaxing way possible.  Certainly I'm not suggesting we shouldn't rest.  God set the example of the importance of rest.  I think we need to have time set aside for this, and I do.  As far as the "me" time, God provides that for me.  I don't have to go looking for it.  Often when I'm overworked and tired, it's because I have been following my own desires and plan and not His.  Yet, I often find myself wanting more than what I have set aside.

Did I not set aside enough sleep?  Do I just need more sleep than the average person?  Trust me, I have asked myself every question in the book, mainly searching for justification.  But if I slept as long as I wanted to, I wouldn't be productive.  I'd sleep so long to where I couldn't function.  I love sleep, and that's not a good thing.

I enjoy having my Personal Bible Time first thing in the morning.  It just has a way of humbling me and reminding me throughout the day of what God is calling me to do.  It helps me to be more patient, loving, kind, and cheerful.  It's pretty obvious to others when I've not had my morning time with the Lord.

But often, I oversleep, telling myself I'll do Bible Time later.  I actually did that just this morning.  Even after turning off my alarm, convincing myself I'll do Bible time during the children's nap times, the Spirit would wake me up to remind me of what I should be doing.  You'd think that'd get me up!  If I really want to please my Father, wouldn't I follow His gentle promptings?! 

Yet this morning, I slept.  I got 8 hours of sleep, it's not as though I was deprived of sleep.  Even if I had, I would have gotten up for any other event in the world that I had to do.  I'd get up for a doctor's appointment, a breakfast date with a friend, to go yardsaling with my Grandma....anything that required accountability, I'd be up.  So when I'm accountable to God, why do I not get up?  If I really want to know more about Him and spend time with Him with no interruptions, why do I remain in bed?

Proverbs 6:9

"How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?"

 

Proverbs 20:13

"Love not sleep, lest thou come to poverty; open thine eyes, and thou shalt be satisfied with bread".

As you can see, it's not wise to have a love for sleep.  Yet, this world teaches us to love sleep and to hate work.  We have it backwards from what the Bible teaches us.  Sleep is good, but too much sleep leads to all sorts of problems, including slothfulness.

 

 

According to the National Sleep Foundation, the amount of sleep needed for each person varies on a variety of factors, but generally, the chart below is a good example:

 

I have found that when I sleep 9 hours, I'm actually groggy.  I find that 7-8 hours is best for me, if I can just get out of bed!

My husband works a late shift, so I get up a few hours before he does.  This gives me time to have my quiet time, get ready and begin making his supper for the evening, while getting the kids ready for the day.  Often, I think it would be easier if he and I got up at the same time to be accountable for one another.  But right now, that's not really an option.

Sleep is a great thing!  God created sleep!  If we labour all day, going to sleep will not be a problem.  When our head hits the pillow, we can rest knowing we did the things that pleased our Father and that we worked all day long.  When we are tired from a long day, we are far more likely to go into a deeper sleep, quicker.

I find myself often staying awake thinking about things....lots of things....even things that really don't matter.  So really, I may be in bed for about 8 hours, but I'm usually not sleeping that long.  I would say this is another problem that contributes to not being able to get up in the morning.

Also, if I have any caffeine of the night, I notice that this plays a role at allowing me to sleep.

But a big reason for me is that I'm not labouring all day long.  Being at home, things are more relaxed.  If I were at work, I'd be running around like a chicken with my head cut off.  Although I certainly have those days here, many days are spent in leisure....those are usually the days that I'm not following my schedule.

It's in those days that I find myself being slothful, tired, unproductive, and grumpy.

So, knowing all of the reasons why I'm struggling to get up in the morning, here's what I'm doing to purpose to get up on time:

1)  Going to bed on time.  If I don't make it to bed on time, I will not get up on time.  I must be as rigorous about my bedtime as I am with my children.

2)  Place a note by my alarm (which needs to be placed away so I have to get up to turn off) reminding me of the importance of uninterrupted time with my God.  Once I'm awake, this usually is no problem, but when I'm in that sleepy mode, it's often hard to convince myself.

3)  Follow my schedule.  My schedule is full of the things that I have prayed about that I believe God wants us to accomplish in a day.  The schedule is as it should be, and if I follow it, I will be tired by the end of the day.  But my sleep will be, oh so sweet.  If I would make it a point to follow my schedule each day, I won't have to think about all of the things I need to do, because it is already laid out for me, and I'm not behind because I'm staying on schedule.

 

4)  Although we rarely keep caffeine in our home, it's important to set a time aside for foods that will keep me up.  I need to set a time for none of those past a certain point in the day.

5)  I sing a song to my girls every morning as I wake them up, "Rise and Shine and Give God the Glory."  I need to begin to sing this song to myself.  I need to follow my own advice.

6)  Reevaluate my priorities.  If I can get up every single time I have a doctor's appointment scheduled the next morning, even when I've only had 3 hours of sleep, I should be able to get up to begin my day at home.  God has called me to do a high calling by staying at home with my children.  I often take it for granted.  I need to take each day and consider it more important than any other commitment I could have to anyone else.  This is a commitment to my Lord!  Surely I would want to keep my commitments to Him first!  I must have my priorities in order.

 

7)  Ask my husband to hold me accountable to getting up and getting things done throughout the day.  I have such a desire to please my husband.  If I would ask him to hold me accountable to my schedule that I made for myself, certainly I would need to get up on time to get it all done!

8)  If I continue to have struggles getting up after all of these changes above, then I need to move my Bible Time to the children's nap time, and just get up at the time the children will get up.  When the baby is crying to get up, I kinda HAVE to get up.  I can then go to bed later than they do at night to accomplish the tasks I normally do during their naptimes.  Although I would rather have my Bible Time in the morning, it's important to make sure I have it every day, and not get behind one day.  It's better to have it during a less ideal time than to not have it at all or to have it at a time when I am so tired I can't concentrate.


So here are the things I am purposing to do to help me with this character flaw in my life.  Let me ask you, do you struggle with this too?  What do you think are your reasons for wanting to stay in bed?  Maybe you once struggled with this, but have overcame it.  Did you do any of these things to help you do so?  What else did you do?  Maybe you don't struggle with this issue at all.  What words of encouragement would you give to those of us who do struggle in this area?  I'd love for you to leave your encouragement in the comments below!

I hope that we can all encourage one another to be doing the work that God has called us to do.  It may look different in each of our lives, but God has an individual calling in each of our lives.  We should not let ANYTHING, even sleep, come between us and our calling.  Some of us may sleep 5 hours, some may sleep 10.  We have to prayerfully evaluate the sleep we need and accomplishing the schedule God has called us to do throughout the day.