The Significance of Sleep

By Amy Robertshaw

    My granny used to tell me stories of when she was a young girl growing up in the rural mountains of North Carolina. She spoke of evenings when her folks, neighbors and kinfolk would gather on the front porch of her family home. She and the other children would lie on a blanket listening to the sounds of the harmonica and fiddle. Granny described gazing at the stars and the fireflies as she listened to the music, stories, laughter and the night sounds all around her. Together they were all held in the embrace of darkness.
    My granny’s lovely memory is a wonderful example of a healthy night. It gives us a picture of a community embracing the darkness and the natural life rhythms that night time brings.
    This past year I did a research project through my training at Sophia's Hearth Family Center. I explored sleep; particularly the sleep of mothers with young children. My research into sleep brought me down numerous paths. I discovered that sleep is sacred… sleep is spiritual … sleep is healing … and sleep is often overlooked as an important aspect of health. My hope is that sharing some of these discoveries here with you will remind you of the significance for us all to get enough sleep.

How much sleep is enough sleep?
    I did a small study of mothers who participated in Sophia's Hearth playgroups. Of the 14 respondents, only two answered with a clear “yes” to the question, “Do you feel you get enough sleep?” Those two respondents had one thing in common: they both slept 10 hours a night. 10 hours a night? This was a surprising outcome. Further, those averaging 9 to 9 1/2 hours of sleep a night answered either “no” or “sometimes” to that same question.
    The amount of sleep adults need is generally stated as between seven and nine hours per night. However, there is also a sleep debt (hours slept less than individual optimum) that we must pay off before we can get to a place of feeling well rested after seven to nine hours of sleep. Otherwise we end up with what is referred to as chronic partial sleep deprivation.
    Given that most mothers sleep is disrupted at least once a night, (only 4 of my respondents stated “yes” to “Do your children sleep through the night?”), perhaps 10 hours should not be so surprising. In fact before Thomas Edison's invention of the light bulb, people slept an average of 10 hours a night.

The Light Bulb
    Has the light bulb indeed changed our sleep in such a dramatic way? Before I look at the effects of light, I want to share the results of a study conducted in 1999 by Thomas A. Wehr. This study was specifically looking at natural sleep patterns prior to excessive nighttime light:
    He found that when healthy adults were prohibited from using artificial light at night-- from dusk until dawn, their sleep patterns went through an unusual transformation. Participants in Wehr’s study developed a curious pattern of lying comfortably awake for an hour or more before falling asleep, sleeping deeply for a few hours, awakening in peaceful contemplation for an hour or more, and then returning to sleep for a few more hours.
    Wehr’s study gives us a picture of what sleep was like before the light bulb. Our inner life mirrored what was happening in the outer world. We became quiet, contemplative, inward. Even during the time that we were not sleeping, we were able to be in the darkness.
    So, what has the light bulb contributed to our culture of nighttime and sleep? Today Americans average 6.4 hours of sleep on weeknights and 7.5 hours per night on weekends. That is a significant drop since the advent of the light bulb! In our modern day world we are more and more illuminated by lights. Light at night has significantly shortened our nights. Think of that for a moment. A man made object has resulted in shortening the natural rhythms the earth provides.

24-Hour Society
    As I researched the importance of sleep and the myriad of sleep problems in our modern day world, I was particularly struck with how our culture overwhelmingly denies and suppresses the natural tendencies of quieting and slowing down at night. Instead we have 24 hour pharmacies, grocery stores and restaurants.
    “We refuel with caffeine, sugar, adrenaline, and yes, gratuitous evening light. Rather than allowing ourselves to gradually let go of the day, we extend an active, waking, daytime posture into the start of the night. In fact we extend daylight itself,” said Wehr.
    Even so, I can hear all you busy mom’s saying, “there is so much we can do and get done after the kids are in bed!” I know. I struggle with it too. The allure of getting one more thing done before bed can be just too tempting for a busy mom, as well as the rest of our culture that is juggling more tasks than can fit in a 12 hour day. The night times of my Granny and her family and neighbors seem to be a distant memory in a culture that keeps a frantic 24 hours a day pace.
    More next time on sleep and its importance … but until then, spend some time in the dark, and give yourself the gift of sleep!