Catching Zzzzz's

One of the criteria for meeting the diagnosis of depression is, changes in sleep such as too much sleep or not enough sleep, sleep is important to the overall health and well being of YOU. When you sleep, your body is given this opportunity to regroup, recharge, and decompress. Taking away that opportunity, or over doing it, can have consequences on your health. One might find that their sleep routine and mood are intricately intertwined. The appropriate amount of sleep leads to healthy management of mood changes, stressors, and triggers. One might also find that the lack of sleep or too much sleep, leads to challenges in managing mood changes, stressors, and triggers. Sleep might be a science but for you, its a way of life. We are given 24 hours in a day, ideally 8 of those hours are for work, 8 for pleasure, and 8 for sleep. **Please allow for variations for each unique and beautiful individual.

When we start to add too much sleep, we start to go into those other areas of our life, that are just as important to social and overall functioning. Maybe you started sleeping through work, or you keep missing the get together with friends. These are those signs that are telling you that something is not how it should be.

There are apps that allow you to track your sleep, your phone can tell you when to go to bed to get the right amount of sleep. Getting this all figured out is possible. It can be a trial and error process. Mapping the hours of sleep you get with how your mood is the next day. How rested you feel and how much energy you have the next day. This is taking ownership and control back into your life. The control that can feel so lost when depression hits. I know it is easier said than done. But I want you to know that you can do it. Baby steps. People do this. So can you. Logging your sleep habits can be a great way to see how sleep effects you and also how your mood might effect your sleep. Are you sleeping more on days that you feel low?

Depression can feel at times like you are the only one going through this, and that this is just the way that it is going to be. But God reminds us that He wants us to give Him our troubles, our worries, and He wants to give us rest. He wants to carry us through these hard times, we do not have to do this alone.

Scripture:

Matthew 11:28

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Isaiah 30:15

For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, "In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength." But you are unwilling...

Questions:

What keeps you from resting?

Is there an unwillingness to allow yourself to rest?

How might your life look if you allowed yourself to rest in God?

How might the experience of physical sleep lead you closer to God?