Sleeping

By Hannah

Comfort, warmth, and the act of being purely content. Everyday our bodies are constantly moving, out minds are endlessly racing, and we move though cycles of emotions, dilemmas, and daily routines. We, as civilized human beings, are powerhouse machines, always working and producing. Throughout the day we may only rest for scarce moments, but it is at night when our minds are set free as we lay peacefully in our sleep. Sleep is a key element to surviving. In our sleep, we restore our bodies, we begin to think more clearly, and we dream. It is said that to stay sharp, energized, and creative, a person must spend one third of their life sleeping. It is sleep that keeps us functional and (somewhat) sane. As we drift away from the problems of the world in this soothing state of mind, our brains keep ticking and our bodies become restored. Ancient Egyptians believed that in sleep, our souls are freed from the physical body and our spiritual double becomes disengaged from our everyday worries. There is nothing more rejuvenating than this sweet slumber which we so solemnly leave its curious nature unappreciated.

I remember a time and a feeling of being overwhelmed. I was truly exhausted from school, work, projects, and every other element that fulfilled my days. Staying up late finishing work and waking up early for another day of the same events was beginning to take it’s toll on my mind and body. Stress and anxiety seeped through my pores and my once calm, cool disposition was quickly vanishing. My health began failing and it felt as if my brain was working slower. There was no question to what my remedy was. I needed a good night’s sleep. As I rested my head on the soft comfy pillow a huge blanket of remorse that had been suffocating me with troubles was lifted from above me and I began to breathe again. Things that hadn’t stop spinning through my mind for days were halted and all worries began to fade. I slept over 24 hours that weekend. This demonstrated how badly I needed sleep. When I woke up for school that Monday, I was happier, I was not worried, and I had a feeling of readiness. Not sleeping for how much I should be and constantly working my brain abused my mind and soul. I restricted myself from my true potential just by not getting enough sleep. It is the simplest cure that anyone is capable of.






Sleeping allows our bodies to repair cells, cuts, bruises, and sore muscles. We are given time to interpret events that occurred throughout the day. Our bodies are restored and our minds sort out problems. Brain activity is sensational during sleep. We begin to think more clearly which assists us in solving problems. We also remember things in our sleep and sort new information into our memory banks. Creativity is also produced in our sleep as we think of new ideas. Hippocrates had a theory that we were capable of “judging the balance of the whole and to perceive in dreams the cause of illness” as we sleep. Sleep is not only a time for rest but a time to let our bodies heal and concoct great new things. Along with these positive attributes of sleep we also dream and as we enter this demio oneiron-village of dreams-anything we desire can become real for a few moments.

Researchers believe that a person needs to dream to be emotionally and mentally healthy. Our heart rate and blood pressure increase and our eyelids begin to twitch as our own personal movies play through our heads. Most dreams are wishful dreams. Dreams of things we want to happen but most likely never will. Dreaming of these things is a way to fulfill our wishes. We can also have dreams of contradiction, hypocritical, anxiety, and hysterical events. Dreams can also be a representation of something bigger or a sign for something coming. Sigmund Freud focused many of his studies on the interpretation of dreams. A falling dream could mean a person feels out of control in a situation in their waking life. Being pregnant in a dream could also symbolize new beginnings and creativity. Dreaming is another way to let one’s soul escape and be unleashed from one’s physical state.

Even though we don’t always realize what the act of sleeping does for us, we truly couldn’t move on through life without it. We get dragged down and emotionally tortured when rest is lacking. Without dreams, whether we remember them or not, our wishes would never be able to even seem possible. So whenever anxiety is taking over, being overwhelmed is the only thing you can relate to, and you just can’t figure how to get well, take some time, stop what you are doing, close your eyes, and let sleep do what it does best.



^Strictly for the song.