93. Is Sleep a Luxury?

Sleep is the most misunderstood thing in our lives. Some people over sleep and waste away their precious lives, while some others think it is a waste of time to sleep and ruin their invaluable health.

Sleep is Nature’s way of putting us back in good health and mental alertness. Many damages are repaired and the whole body gets tuned to good health, while we sleep.

The amount of sleep needed by each individual varies from person to person. The new born baby sleeps most of the day. As we grow, the number of hours of sleep needed is reduced. In old age, people can hardly sleep. Time seems to hang heavily and each day seems to go on and on endlessly!

An average adult needs six to eight hours of sleep per day. If he gets to sleep for less than six hours, he is deprived of enough sleep. If he sleeps for more than eight hours, he is enjoying a luxury, which only a few can afford!

My father, a doctor, used to say,” Sleep is like a drug. The more you have it, the more you want it”. Truly just as a drug is administered in accurate quantities, sleep must by had in adequate quantities, neither more nor less.

Extensive studies have proved that stress, anxiety, anger, aggressive driving and drowsy driving are natural consequences of lack of sleep, known as sleep deprivation. But this can have more serious and far reaching effects on a person.

It affects a person’s physical and mental well being and indirectly affects the person’s emotional well being also. Sleep deprivation causes tension and anxiety. Both these along with sleep deprivation affect the immune system of the body badly. The person becomes susceptible to several diseases and health disorders.

The person is unable to get anything done properly. He is unable to focus, gets confused easily, forgets important things and remains high-strung most of the time!

Persons, who work at night, must learn to make up for the deficit of sleep during the day. Pilots and air hostesses, who are always flying across various time zones, learn to sleep when they become free- be it a day or night. Otherwise they will be unfit for flying the air plane and playing the hostesses.

In order to remain healthy and happy and have an alert and focused mind, we need to get adequate sleep. If necessary we will have to make some changes in our daily schedule to ensure that we will be “bright eyed and bushy tailed like the chirpy squirrel” when we get up!

Remember, Sleep is a necessity and not just a luxury!

Visalakshi Ramani