REST

The Big Picture

Rest is the second guiding principle of the CREATION Health Lifestyle. This article is your
introduction to Rest. At the end of this article is a growing list of related healthy lifestyle articles to
keep you informed.
Rest is incredibly powerful. It refreshes, rejuvenates, regenerates and rebuilds the mind,
body and soul. Rest empowers you to function at your best. Optimally, rest includes a good night’s
sleep as well as time to relax and rejuvenate daily, weekly and annually.
The true benefits of rest are misunderstood and often unappreciated. The stress and
pressures of life can accumulate over time and can create a generalized "dis-ease" with life. Proper
rest is a powerful antidote for this common problem.
Because our society revolves around its own concepts of "success", many people have
become pressed by work and their personal desires to achieve that "success". The day is filled with
many important and seemingly urgent responsibilities, so rest is easily dropped to the bottom of the
list. Yet many do not realize how much more effectively and efficiently their minds, bodies and souls
would function, and how much more likely they would reach their goals of "success" if they gave
themselves the right kind of rest at the right time.
CREATION Health is your faith-based lifestyle transformation program that takes a holistic
approach to mental, physical and spiritual well-being. Start living CREATION Healthy with God's
prescription for living today!

Costly effects of sleep deprivation

Most everyone knows about the benefits of a healthy diet and regular exercise, but many
overlook the important role of sleep. Sleep is a key to good health and should be considered – said
two neurologists at Northwestern University in an editorial of the Journal Archives of Internal
Medicine – as “essential to a healthy lifestyle as exercise and nutrition.”1 If you do not improve your
sleep (especially your nightly sleep) you will not get the maximum benefits from your exercise and
diet.
In fact, lack of proper sleep can have many negative consequences for the brain and body,
including slowed brain function and increased rates of disease and mortality. For optimal functioning,
we must allow our minds and bodies the opportunity to take advantage of the restorative and
rejuvenating effects of regular sleep.
A study conducted at the University of Chicago found that chronic sleep loss could hasten the
onset, and increase the severity of diabetes, high blood pressure, and obesity.2 Lack of sleep is also
linked to a significantly increased risk of coronary heart disease.3 Not enough sleep can also result in
excessive daytime sleepiness, reduced neurocognitive function,4 and depression.5 There is also
evidence for a decrease in memory and learning.6
Research presented at the 1993 annual conference of the Word Federation of Sleep Society
reported that losing three hours of sleep on any given night can cut in half the effectiveness of an
individual’s immune system.7 Lack of sleep is also associated with a decreased ability to perform
tasks controlled by the frontal lobe, such as planning, concentration, motor performance, and high-
level intellectual skills.8 In school children, sleep restriction has been shown to contribute to
increased attention problems;9 in college age students, sleep restriction negatively impacted
academic measures in contrast to those who had a better quality of sleep.10 An international survey
of nearly 17,500 university students from 24 countries found that not getting enough sleep or
sleeping less than seven hours nightly was related to poorer self-reported health in young adults.11
One somewhat scary fact about sleep deprivation is that individuals who were sleep deprived
for 14 days reported feeling only slightly sleepy; that is – they were unaware of how impaired they
really were! The cognitive performance deficits included reduced ability to pay attention and to
react to stimulus such as when driving, or monitoring security at airports. Other deficits involved
impairment of the ability to think quickly and avoid mistakes, as well as a reduced ability to
multitask.12 The risk for other serious types of accidents is, of course, increased as well. “Large-scale
disasters like Chernobyl, the Exxon Valdez crash, and the Three Mile Island incident all occurred in
early pre-dawn hours, a time when vigilance is at a low point.”13 In each of these devastating, man-
made tragedies, lack of sleep and rest were a major factor.

Balanced sleep
Getting enough good sleep is very important. But how much sleep should we be getting?
Studies show that for adults, seven to eight hours a night is best.
In the classic Alameda County Study, which included nearly 7,000 people, researchers found
that this figure was associated with the greatest longevity.14 We have seen clearly that restricted
sleep is detrimental, but too much sleep can also be detrimental to your health. Researchers
discovered that subjects who reported short (six or less hours per night) or long sleep (nine or more
hours) shortened their lives by an average of nine years when compared with people who slept
seven to eight hours per night.15

Early to Bed, Early to Rise

Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise”
-Benjamin Franklin
New research indicates that the familiar quote from Benjamin Franklin contains a lot of
wisdom. Surprising health improvements might be the morning person’s real rewards. Those who
go to bed early and get up early have lower rates of heart disease, diabetes, and overall lower death
rates than those who stay up late and get up late.
God made humans diurnal, or made to function during the day. Our bodies are designed to
work best when we go to sleep early in the evening and get up early in the morning. Dr. Timothy H.
Monk, one of the foremost authorities on sleep, said: “Human beings are built to be daytime
creatures. It’s hard wired into our circuitry… when you deliberately try to shift the sleep/wake cycle,
it’s like having a symphony with two conductors, each one beating out a different time… your
delicate internal rhythms go haywire… you need to treat sleep as a precious and fragile thing.”16
Monk has found that early risers are more likely than night owls to stick to healthy routines
and have better sleep. Larks (early birds) wake up, eat meals, exercise, and go to bed at pretty much
the same time each day. Night Owls, on the other hand, are not so consistent with healthy daily
practices.17
The payoff for early birds is worth getting out of bed. Regularity in one’s life also leads to
healthier eating patterns, such as a good breakfast and less late night snacking. This can in turn
boost your immune system, fight off colds, improve mental performance during the day, and
decrease stress.
Larks and Night Owls
The National Sleep Foundation conducted a national poll in 2005 of adults, which gives us
insight into why early to bed early to rise is so beneficial. Twenty-seven percent of the respondents
to the survey were categorized by the foundation as Healthy, Lively Larks.
Members of this group were the least likely to have problems sleeping and, therefore, were
the most likely to enjoy a good night’s sleep. They were morning people who began their day early.
They fell asleep quickly without the use of sleep aids and were least likely, of all those who
responded, to have any medical conditions! Of all the respondents, they were the most likely to say
that during their wake time they never or rarely felt tired, fatigued or not up to par (73%, compared
to 49% overall).
Compared to the average sleeper, the Healthy, Lively Larks are much less likely to have
missed work or events and/or made errors at work at least once in the past three months because of
being too sleepy (16%, compared to 28% overall).18
God made us all the same in some ways. How and when we should sleep for maximum
benefit seems to be one of these. There is no scientifically valid basis for the idea that “we were
each made differently and naturally fall into the pattern that is healthiest for us.”
Many years of research and hundreds of well-conducted studies show that our bodies were
all created to live by the same sleep habits. As Dr. Monk states, all humans are hardwired to go to
sleep when it gets dark. That’s how we can maximize our health. We develop sleeping patterns
because of environmental circumstances and habits that turn into conditioned responses and, over
the years, these habits can become very ingrained in our lives.
Night Owls are hurting their bodies, no matter how comfortable they are with staying up
late.

The 5 Stages of Sleep

Stage One Sleep is the lightest and comes as a person just doses off. This is a light sleep
where people drift in and out of sleep. The eyes move slowly and muscle activity slows. They can be
awakened easily. Some may experience sudden muscle contractions after a sensation of falling.
Stage Two Sleep is when eye movement stops and brain waves become slower although
there will be an occasional burst of rapid brain waves.
Stage Three Sleep is when an EEG (ElectroEncephaloGram) records very slow brain waves
(SWS – Slow Wave Sleep) called delta waves that are interspersed with smaller, faster waves.
Stage Four Sleep is when most of the slow delta waves are seen. Stages 3 and 4 are called
deep sleep. It is very difficult to awaken someone from these levels. There is no eye movement or
muscle activity during these stages. Bed wetting, sleep walking or night terrors happen during stage
four.
Stage Five Sleep, the last stage, is called REM or Rapid Eye Movement sleep. Breathing is
more rapid, irregular and shallow. The eyes jerk rapidly. The arm and leg muscles are temporarily
paralyzed. The EEG brain waves during this stage are similar to levels experienced by an awake
individual. The REM stage is when most dreams occur. Our circadian rhythms, which are hardwired,
contribute to a variety of hormonal releases, and these in turn contribute to the production of an
optimal sleeping environment that will facilitate the greatest possible restoration for our bodies.
What is the good news in all of this? We can choose to synchronize ourselves with these
natural rhythms and reap the benefits. In order to do this, we should get to bed early on a regular
basis.30
Becoming a Morning Person
The good news is that becoming a morning person is doable and the rewards for doing so are
tremendous. You might be tempted to say, “I have tried to go to bed early but I can’t change. I’m
just a night person.”
Sleep habits can become firmly ingrained over a lifetime and thus, as with any longstanding
habit, it will need intelligent and determined effort to change. But, rest assured – you can!
If you see the negative effects of being a Night Owl and the benefits of obeying your body’s
natural rhythms, start working on adjusting your sleep patterns. Start slowly. Don’t try going from
getting up at 8:30 or later every morning to getting up at 5:30 all at once.
Likewise, don’t try going to bed at 9:30 in the evening if your usual bedtime is 12:30 or later.
Make small but incremental changes, gradually, over a period of weeks and months, and you will
eventually become accustomed to your new schedule. Most importantly, be consistent. Make a plan
and stick to it strictly.

Melatonin Hormone
Melatonin is a hormone that is a precursor to good sleep. In most people, endogenous
melatonin levels are highest during the normal hours of sleep, increasing rapidly in the late evening,
then peaking after midnight and decreasing toward morning.”19
Functions of melatonin include: the synchronization of “circadian and circannual rhythms,
that stimulate immune function, and, have recently been shown is a potent hydroxyl radical
scavenger and antioxidant.”20
Melatonin release naturally increases in the late evening. If we arrange our schedules so that
we can go to bed in sync with this natural increase, we will maximize its release and the subsequent
benefits. On the other hand, if we keep the lights on and stay up in the evening, melatonin release
will be reduced and it will be more difficult to enjoy quality sleep.

Ghrelin Hormone
Sleep plays an important role in weight control. Ghrelin is a hormone that plays an important
role in the regulation of appetite.21
Research has found that partial sleep deprivation was associated with a decrease in plasma
levels of leptin and an accompanying increase in plasma levels of ghrelin. Subjective ratings of
hunger and appetite also increased.
Moreover, a remarkable correlation was found between the increase in hunger and the
increase in the ghrelin/leptin ratio. Thus the neuroendocrine regulation of appetite and food intake
appears to be influenced by how long a person sleeps. Studies show that not enough sleep could
lead to obesity.22-23
Restricting sleep will in turn boost ghrelin, a hormone that makes us feel hungry. At the
same time, lack of sleep suppresses another hormone, leptin, which helps to make us feel full. It is
probable that a lack of sleep is contributing to the increasing obesity rates in America.24
Ghrelin also plays an important role in carbohydrate and lipid metabolism and, possibly,
heart function, immune functions, and cell proliferation. It promotes slow-wave sleep (SWS, non-
REM sleep stages three and four).
Ghrelin also stimulates a growth hormone.25 Researchers have found that ghrelin levels
increase during the early part of the night, with highest levels in the evening and early morning
before two a.m. There is then a decrease in the morning. The nocturnal increase was blunted during
sleep deprivation, and ghrelin levels increased only slightly until the early morning. The secretion of
ghrelin during the first hours of sleep correlated positively with peak human growth hormone
concentrations.26

Getting Out of the Fast Lane

We are an over-stimulated society. The world is cramming more and more into each 24-hour
day.
Businesses run at an ever-quickening pace. People, phone, fax, cell, e-mail, pager all flood us
with demands wherever we are in the world.
When we finally try to relax, the stimulation only increases. Take television for example, our
choices have gone from a few channels to over 500 competing for our attention.
"On the seventh day having finished his task, God rested from all his work. – Genesis 2:2 NLT"
What about our nighttimes? Not much better. According to the National Sleep Foundation,
more than 100 million Americans suffer from sleep deprivation. More than 40 percent of Americans
sleep less than six hours a night, and as many as one in three are so sleepy during the day that it
interferes with their performance and activities at least two to three days in each month. And guess
what? Stress is the number one cause for poor sleep. Consider these familiar scenarios:

 A young stock trader exchanges a full night’s sleep with fitful naps between
transactions as he frantically tries to follow market activity around the world.
 A young mother accepts the night shift so she can take care of her children during the
day. She describes her world as exhausting and speaks of sleep with the craving of a hungry
beggar talking about food. But as she works what is basically an 80-hour week, she risks her
health, her sanity, and her marriage.

It's time to get out of the fast lane, slow down, and stop missing the most important things
in life.

Islands of Time
Science didn't "discover" our need for a cycle of rest. Rest is part of the plan that our Creator
gave to us at the very beginning. He established an island of time at the end of each week for
spiritual and physical restoration.
The book of Genesis tells how God provided for this rest. During a six-day period God
created all the living things on our planet, everything from crickets to crocodiles, from mushrooms to
mangoes. He also made the first human beings.
It was an amazing week of work, and the Creator knew it. “God saw all that he had made,
and it was very good” (Genesis 1:31). Everything was good, indeed. We’re still discovering today the
awe-inspiring ways in which He designed even the tiniest of creatures—living things so small we can
view them only through powerful microscopes.
But then watch what happened: “Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their
vast array. By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day
he rested from all his work” (Genesis 2:1, 2).
What was God doing here? Was He worn out from His work? Not likely. Instead, He was
setting an example for us. He was building a rhythm of rest into our weekly cycle. This cycle is as
much a part of nature as the rhythm of our hearts: beat, rest, beat, rest. God was creating an island
of rest in our ocean of labor.
He would make that clear when He gave the world His essential Ten Commandments from Mount
Sinai. Among these basic moral principles is one that prescribes rest.
The fourth commandment reads: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you
shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you
shall do no work” (Exodus 20:8-10, NKJV).
In other words, God is saying: “Great news! You don’t have to work this day, and you don’t
have to feel guilty about it. This is a day for resting.” By the way, notice something else interesting
about the weekly cycle of activity and rest. The seven-day week is the only part of our calendars that
doesn’t correspond to some celestial cycle. Think about it.

 We have the year, the time it takes the earth to orbit the sun.
 We have the month, the period from one full moon to the next.
 And we have the 24-hour day, one rotation of the earth on its axis.

But the week? Where does that come from? Nature has no seven-day cycles that repeat
themselves again and again. Yet virtually everyone on earth observes a seven-day week. Why?
Because the week came to all of us from the hand of the Creator.
Going back to the beginning, back to the garden, it’s a direct link through time to the One
who fashioned life on our planet. And at the climax of that week God rested, setting a pattern for us
to rest as well.

God Has a Rest Option

God’s healing rest is as close as the beating of your heart.
In our stressed-out world, in which families are increasingly falling apart and thousands visit
hospital emergency rooms each day because their stress has become a major health crisis, we
desperately need the kind of rest that God offers. Here is a paraphrase of the famous invitation
made in Matthew 11:28: “Come unto me all you who labor to exhaustion, and I will give you rest.”
HeartMath is an organization begun by a group of scientists dedicated to teaching people
how to gain maximum health through getting their circulatory, respiratory, and nervous systems back
into sync. Their approach is to teach simple activities you can do right now to bring your body back
into balance.
"A day out-of-doors, someone I loved to talk with, a good book and some simple food and
music, that would be rest. – Eleanor Roosevelt"
Take Power Breaks, HeartMath says. As little as five minutes will make a tremendous
difference in how you feel and how well your body works. “Breathe deeply, relax your mind with
peaceful thoughts, and pray. Such breaks will have profound impact on your body and your
performance.” Research shows that “when we are in sync, blood pressure drops, stress hormones
plummet, anti-aging hormones increase, clarity and calmness result.” In short, you experience the
benefits of rest. This is especially important when you face a crisis. It will enable you to be your best.
Athletes call this being “in the zone”—the rest zone!
God’s healing rest is as close as the beating of your heart. He has placed the rhythm of rest
within the very pulse of your own body by programming rest into each heartbeat, into each day, and
into each week. Why not step out of the fast lane and enjoy some sweet rest. Your body will bless
you for it.
Growth Hormone and Sleep
“When you were young, your mother told you that you need to get enough sleep to grow
strong and tall. She was right! Deep sleep triggers a greater release of growth hormone (GH), that
fuels growth in children and boosts muscle mass and the repair of cells and tissues in children and
adults.”27
Repairing cells and tissues assists our body in keeping well. A study using growth hormone in
HIV patients showed apparent reversal of wasting syndrome, a loss of 10% or more of body weight,
and restoration of lean body mass.28
Most of the physiologically important GH secretion occurs as several large pulses or peaks of
GH release each day. The largest and most predictable of these GH peaks occurs about an hour after
onset of sleep.
This is partly due to the fact that the secretion of GH is strongly associated with deep, non-
REM sleep.29 Deep non-REM sleep, as was noted, takes place more in the early hours of the night
and diminishes as the morning approaches.
This relationship again demonstrates the importance of getting to bed as early as possible in
the evening. By doing so, you will maximize the secretion of GH which will help improve and
maintain your health in many ways.

Breathing for Life

Daily relaxation is important in helping to refresh yourself when stress is high and the
demands are great. Relaxation can take many forms.
Many people report they need to do something totally different from their normal routine in
order to relax.
Taking deep breaths of fresh air outside during a work break can help energize the body for
the rest of the work day. Fresh air taken deeply into the lungs is a wonderful, vitalizing force.
The CREATION Health principle of Environment teaches us that fresh air has many positive
benefits. Fresh air is chemically different than the recirculated indoor air that most Americans
breathe on a daily basis.31
Fresh air is actually electrified. It is negatively charged or “negatively ionized” by the oxygen
molecule which is a good thing. There are over 5,000 published studies reporting on experiments
with ionization. All support the conclusion that, generally speaking, an overdose of positive ions is
detrimental to health while extra negative ions, the good ones, are beneficial.32
The negatively charged oxygen reportedly brings an improved sense of well-being, increases
the rate and quality of growth in both plants and animals, improves function in the lung’s protective
cilia, decreases anxiety through a tranquilizing and relaxing effect, lowers body temperature, lowers
resting heart rate, improves learning in mammals, decreases severity of stomach ulcers and
decreases survival of bacteria and viruses in the air.33-39
Even if you can’t get into the fresh air, deep breathing can be beneficial. Long and slow
abdominal breathing will reduce anxiety and improve the quality and quantity of sleep.40

Progressive Muscle Relaxation

Have you ever had an aching back or pain in your neck when you were anxious or stressed?
When you have anxiety or stress in your life, one of the ways your body responds is with
muscle tension. Progressive muscle relaxation is a method that helps relieve that tension.
 In progressive muscle relaxation, you tense a group of muscles as you breathe in, and you
relax them as you breathe out. You work on your muscle groups in a certain order.
If you have trouble falling asleep, this method may also help with your sleep problems.
A few minutes of progressive relaxation can renew your personal energy on a stressful day.
In progressive relaxation, the individual sits in a quiet, comfortable position and starts to breathe
deeply and slowly. The mind is focused on a place that brings relaxation and happiness, maybe for
you it is a mountain top or favorite vacation spot.
The mind seeks to enter into this place with all of the senses: touching, smelling and hearing
with the imagination as the deep breathing continues. While remaining in the imaginary restful
environment, the focus then turns to tightening and then relaxing muscle groups. Begin with the
hands. Then the arms, shoulders, neck, jaw, eyes, abdomen, back, legs, and feet in that order.
Between each muscle group, there should be a pause to review and ensure that the other muscles
are continuing to be relaxed. The next muscle group can then receive the focus until all groups have
been relaxed.
Once the physical and mental relaxation has been achieved it should be enjoyed for several
minutes while assuring that the muscles stay relaxed. Progressive relaxation has been shown to be a
great stress reliever.41

Meditation
A period of meditation on something positive and encouraging might be just what you need
for renewed energy. Meditating on the special personal meaning of a Bible promise can have
powerful renewing and peace promoting effects. Relaxation can come in the form of a daily
vacation, “a piece of time when you wholeheartedly pursue something you truly enjoy.”42
A daily mini-vacation can be packed into as little as 10 or 15 minutes and still be stimulating
and invigorating. Make your daily vacation personal; find something for which you have a passion,
such as reading, playing the piano or talking with your grandkids.
Many people can also benefit greatly by what science now calls a “power nap” of about 20
minutes or less. Power naps have been shown to have many benefits, including higher perceived
alertness,43 improved declarative,44 procedural memory,45 alertness and performance,46-47 mood,48-
50
physiological activation,51-52 and level of alertness.53-54 Power naps have also been shown to help
modulate or calm emotions.55
The point is, find whatever daily relaxation works for you, commit to doing it for at least ten
minutes each day. This is essential to feeling better and will help you perform optimally.

Save a Day
Energizing our lives with daily, weekly and annual vacations is essential to our health and
happiness. We have an innate, God-given need for a change of pace and a time to “come apart.”
This rhythm of life originated with God when He created this Earth. In the beginning, He
created the world in six days, and then rested on the seventh-day. He called it the Sabbath. And it
wasn’t because His physical needs demanded it.
He took time to rest simply because He wanted to enjoy the life He had just created. This
seven-day rhythm suggests we should honor weekly rhythms if we want to take care of our health.
 During World War II, Great Britain instituted a 74-hour work week, but soon found that
people could not maintain the pace. After experimenting, they found that a 48-hour work week,
with regular breaks, plus one day of rest each week, resulted in maximum efficiency.56 During the
French revolution, France experimented with a ten-day week; chaos resulted.56
Our world operates on a seven-day rhythm. We find this cycle in plants, animals and
humans. Medical research has demonstrated seven-day rhythms in connection with a variety of
physiological functions.
These include: heart rate, natural hormones in human breast milk and urine, swelling after
surgery, rejection of transplanted organs, human and animal cancers and their response to
treatment, inflammatory responses and the drugs we use to treat them.
For instance, a patient will tend to have an increase in swelling on the seventh and the
fourteenth day after surgery. Similarly, a patient who has had a kidney transplant is more likely to
reject the organ seven days and fourteen days after surgery.57-63
German scientists call the thing that sets a biorhythm – “zeitgeber” or “time-giver.” The
zeitgeber that initiates and maintains the seven-day rhythm is not yet understood, but some
chronobiologists think that a regular day of rest might pace it. It is possible that we have a
physiologic need to take a specific day off each week.
Taking off one whole day in seven brings renewal to the physical and spiritual life. Unlike
days, months and years, this biorhythm has no astronomical marker. There is no plausible
explanation for its presence, except that it was built into our physiology by our Creator.
The day can be used for many restorative things: to connect with others; it can be great for
re-creation, reflection, and meditation; and it can be a special time to focus on nurturing one’s
spiritual values. How interesting (though not surprising) that science is discovering the health
benefits related to keeping God’s fourth commandment!

Recreation
A great way to get energized is through recreation. The dictionary defines recreation as
“refreshment of one’s mind or body after labor through activity or play.”64 Think of it as re-creation
or the process of being re-energized.
One popular form of recreation is outdoor activities. This includes activities such as bird
watching, sailing, hiking, rock climbing, sports, and the list goes on. Outdoor activities often result in
sunshine, fresh air and exercise.
Hobbies are also a healthy form of recreation. These could include creative hobbies such as
arts and crafts, painting, drawing, cooking, music, photography, collecting hobbies such as artwork,
butterflies, autographs and fossils.
Other re-creational hobbies might include reading, gardening, or animal-related hobbies such
as beekeeping, dog breading, training horses, and many more. The list is endless, the point is finding
a hobby you enjoy and spend time doing it.
Socializing and connecting with others is another way to spend your leisure time. Friendships
benefit your mind, body and soul in many ways.
Take care to choose the kinds of recreation that actually refresh you because after
participating in re-creation activities, you should be re-energized and better able to meet life’s
challenges.
Healthy Vacations
Regularly scheduled vacations are a wonderful way to put “life” back into your existence.
The travel company Expedia conducted an International Vacation Deprivation Survey and
found that more than one-third of employed U.S. adults (34%) reported feeling better about their job
and feeling more productive at it after a vacation.
Respondents also reported feeling closer to their family after a vacation. During a 20-year
follow-up of women participants, the Framingham Heart Study found an association between
infrequent vacationing and increased incidence of death from coronary causes.65
Another study found that men who developed psychosomatic illnesses were less likely to
take vacations than were men who never developed such illnesses.66 Drs. Gump and Matthews
found, in their nine-year study of more than 12,000 men, that annual vacations were associated with
a reduced risk of all-cause mortality. The specific cause of death most strongly associated with
inadequate vacationing was coronary heart disease.67
Vacations can come in all shapes and sizes. You can get the vacation “glow” by taking your
vacation time in small intervals, such as two to four days. Fatigue, neck pain, headaches or
backaches can all be a signal that it is time for a break. A vacation might be “just what the doctor
ordered.”
No question, our bodies are made for work and for rest. Most of us have no problem
working. What we need to do is learn how to rest, and “rest assured” that getting enough sleep,
enjoying weekly down time, and taking relaxing vacations are crucial components of overall good
health.
You don’t have to feel guilty about taking rest! Enjoy the re-creation.

Growth Hormone, Rest and Massage

Not all sleep is equal.
Dr. Krueger, at the University of Kentucky, found that the immune system actually triggers
the type of sleep best for healing. Called “delta” or “slow wave” sleep,it is the deep, restful sleep you
need to awaken feeling refreshed and energized.
During this stage of sleep, the body releases growth hormone (GH). As its name implies,
growth hormone stimulates the growth and repair of damaged tissue. It also stimulates the
formation of lymphocytes (white blood cells), needed to fight disease-causing microbes (germs), an
important step in healing that's triggered by the immune system.
Consequently, it’s available at just the time you need it most—when fighting an illness.
Listen to your body. When you start to feel tired it may be your immune system signaling the need
for some healing sleep.
For every action there has to be an opposite and equal reaction. More than a law of physics,
it’s a requirement for optimal health. Stress is a part of daily living and unlikely to go away. While
you may have little influence over the circumstances that cause you anguish, you can insert periods
of rest and recovery. Stress is beneficial because it stimulates change and growth. However, it is
during periods of recovery that the growth actually occurs.
Successful athletes make recovery an essential part of their training, for without it, muscles
can never achieve their full potential. In the same way, rest has to be your daily routine to protect
you from illness. Rest and recovery balance out stress. Without this “R&R” you will never achieve
optimal health.
While sleep is our primary way of getting needed rest, there are other ways to rest apart
from sleep. One of these is a relaxing massage. This type of rest could be more than just a quiet
interlude from the topsy-turvy world you might live in. It can also be an essential ingredient for good
health. Dr. Tiffany Fields, at the University of Miami, demonstrated that premature infants who were
gently massaged several times each day grew at a faster rate, developed reflexes more rapidly, and
had cognitive advantages compared with those premature infants who were not touched.
Your skin is the largest organ in the body and, when touched, can release pain-countering
endorphins as well as produce immune system stimulating growth hormone.
Those seeking healing, not just pampering, are incorporating restful massages into their
weekly schedules. Couples, of course, can do this for each other.
Moms can give backrubs or foot massages to children and teens. There are many good books
that teach techniques, but it doesn’t take a pro to give a good massage. Just use long strokes and
some kneading movements; add a little warm lotion or oil, and the recipient will be thankful…and
delighted. It’s that simple.

Balance is Only a Heartbeat Away

With each beat, our hearts teach us the importance of respecting natural rhythms—the
necessity to balance work and rest.
During your lifetime, your heart will beat 2.5 billion times and pump more than 1 million
barrels of blood throughout your body. But between each powerful beat, your heart rests. This
resting period allows the heart to reload—to do the work of the next beat.
"Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. –
Jesus Christ"
Likewise, you and I need time to “reload.” We need rest. Overstimulated organs eventually
flat-line -- they shut down and die.
Kathy Grace, a Christian nurse in the Florida Hospital cardiac lab, compares our need for rest
to the heart rhythm itself. “When we take care of patients,” Kathy says, “we always give them an
electrocardiogram [EKG], an electrical recording of the heart. It shows us the heart rhythm, or
heartbeat, which is the very basis of what we do. I like to compare the heartbeat to how the Lord
made us. Each waveform is a heartbeat, and the line that separates each beat is a time of rest. This
is the way our lives work as well. We can have a very active day, and then we need a time of rest.
We need sleep in order to stay healthy.”
Take time regularly -- daily, weekly and yearly -- for rest, relaxation, and rejuvenation.

The Rest Test

This Rest Test will help you to see where you are and clarify your rest-oriented goals.
Check each box that applies to you and then consider the 7 Rest Steps described below.

Do you have to jump-start your brain with stimulants?

Do you lose concentration often?

What fear symptoms do you experience daily?

 worry
 anxiety (general sense of stress)
 panic
What hurry disease symptoms do you experience daily?
 multitasking (drive, eat, talk on phone—all at same time)
 overcommitting yourself (trying to cram too many things into a day)
 crisis-driven (other people run your life; it is out of control)
 emotional (overreacting to small things)

What is your sleep pattern?

 I don’t get enough sleep.
 I can’t sleep.

"Finish each day before you begin the next, and interpose a solid wall of sleep between the two. –
Ralph Waldo Emerson"

Do you live a pattern of overwork?

 I work 60 or more hours a week.
 I feel guilty for neglecting my family.
 Others tell me that my life is out of balance.

Ask yourself these questions:

 How many hours of sleep do you believe you need?
 How are you going to reshape your priorities to achieve this goal?
 How much time each day do you want to spend with God?
 How are you going to reshape your priorities to achieve this goal?
 How much time each day do you want to spend with your family?
 How are you going to reshape your priorities to achieve this goal?
 How do you want to respond to God’s invitation for a full day of weekly rest?
 How are you going to reshape your priorities to achieve this goal?

Get Proper Rest Today

Here Are 7 practical ways to get the rest you need.

1. Pray
Worry and anxiety often stand between us and real rest and health. Instead of becoming
upset while waiting in traffic, talk with God. When you’ve had a rough day at work, tell Him.
Let Him know your worries and cares. Then turn them over to Him and trust that He will take
care of you. The Bible tells us in Philippians 4:6, “Be not anxious about anything, but in
everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

2. Sleep
Develop a regular sleep pattern. If you are sleeping less than eight hours nightly, you are
cheating yourself. Trying to catch up on sleep doesn’t work. Here’s how to get those restful
zzz’s: exercise daily; reduce caffeine intake, especially late in the day; reduce alcohol; avoid
eating large, fatty meals late in the day that can keep you awake; adopt a relaxing bedtime
routine, something that prepares you for sleep, such as a warm bubble bath or listening to
soft music.

3. Breathe Well
Proper breathing can help you relax. Try this: start from the very bottom of your lungs and
breathe in slowly through your nose. Count slowly to five while inhaling. Then exhale
through tight lips twice as long as you inhaled. Allow the head to drop toward the chest as
you exhale, relaxing the back of your neck. Repeat this exercise four or five times until you
notice your breathing is slowing down.

4. Imagine
Take 20-second (or much longer!) mental vacations. Wander through Yosemite National
Park, walk along a white-sand Hawaiian beach, or browse in antique shops in Pennsylvania.
By taking time “away” you will resettle or “resync” your mind and be able to face your day
with new energy.

5. Take a vacation
We all love vacations, but hardly ever take them. The average American worker feels that his
or her workload just doesn’t allow for the luxury of a vacation. It is no wonder that we are
living unhealthy, unbalanced lives because a balanced, healthy life includes regular time off.
No, not just an occasional day here and there—even though those are helpful—but the “I
went fishing in the Keys for two weeks” kind of vacations. Studies show that our bodies need
several days to unwind from the stress of everyday life. Then we need several days after that
for true rest to occur. Start planning your next vacation, a real one without cell phones,
computers, and other work. Get away. Play. Rest.

6. Laugh
The Bible book of Proverbs tells us that a cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit
dries up the bones. Another way of saying this is that laughter is the best medicine. When
we laugh, especially those laughs that start in our toes and don’t stop until they reach the top
of our head, our blood pressure goes down, our muscles relax, and our brains release
endorphins that make us feel better.

"Sabbath is a time to stop, to refrain from being seduced by our desires. To stop working,
stop making money, stop spending money. See what you have. Look around. Listen to your
life. –Wayne Mueller"
7. Rest weekly
Never forget the special rest that God created for us, the Sabbath rest when we leave behind
our normal routine and spend one full day with Him and with family and friends. Spend the
Sabbath reading the Bible and praying, enjoying nature, visiting a nursing home, going to
church. Rest your body, mind, and soul.

Now, get some rest.

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