A Peculiar Thing Sleep Is

Temps yesterday were high 90's yesterday, and I couldn't get to sleep until the wee hours. When it was time to get up this morning, my body ached from the lack of rest. Reminded me of some thoughts that sometimes bounce around this silly noggen of mine.

Sleep. People are so used to the "activity" that they might not think how strange it is. Odd that an episode of "Star Trek: Next Generation" is the first time I remember anyone mentioning sleep as actually a scary idea (and no, I am not a Trekie). I mean, every day the body completely shuts down, and is extremely defenseless. And yet most of us look forward to the rest that sleep provides.

Cars. Why doesn't our body repair itself like we repair a car. You know, take it in every once in awhile for a tune up. Or maybe repair itself like I repair this sad attempt at deep prose: edit and fix as I go.

Motionless and braindead. If we were to just lay on our beds, motionless but conscious, we would hardly feel rested. So it isn't that the muscles, joints, bones, etc just need a break to repair. And it isn't the shutting down of the brain that is the key, since if we didn't dream we wouldn't feel rested either (and studies show that there is less brain activity in someone watching tv than someone sleeping).

Run ragged. Without sleep, some of us would never come home, never take a break from our work or from our fun. And perhaps like with our cars, without sleep some of us would never get around to the maintenance repairs and the much needed ones.

Evolution. Isn't sleep kinda counter to the theory of natural selection? If evolution were true, wouldn't animals that sleep be weeded out right from the start? Talk about a weakness! And yet every animal of any complexity sleeps for a significant amount of time. Sure makes animals more dependent on the social unit.

God. Sleep is one topic I will definitely be asking God about when everything is said and done. Perhaps He made it a necessity for survival so that we would be forced to depend on others, trust others, and admit to ourselves that we are weak vessels.

This is a topic that recomfirms in me that we are purposefully made by a creator. Strange but true.