The Importance of Sleep

When I was a kid, I never wanted to sleep. All I wanted to do was read, play in the fields or go cycling. Sleep to me was an unnecessary thing I had to do. Now, that I’m a little older, and ever so slightly wiser, sometimes, after a busy day at the office, I cannot wait for the evening to end so I can go to be. There it is placed, the bed, like a machine, that freezes time, like a warm, quilted spa, always welcoming, always cosy, waiting for you to slip between the sheets, snuggle up and drift off into a land, where it’s okay to dream and drift, and laze around innocently like a child in a lazy-river.

I used to remember going to bed on a Sunday night, laying my head on the pillow and hating it, knowing that once I shut my eyes, the next moment, I would wake up and have to go to school. The dread. So I used to stave off sleep, but it would always drift over me, like a cool breeze. You are unable to resist. And at the end of the day, when you’re sleepy and drowsy, a plump pillow and clean sheets are such a delight. The bed is a substitute womb; it keeps us and our dreams safe. It’s a hug of fabrics (and with a right detergent it can smell like lemons or oranges or lavender).
Sleep is when our soul debates the events of the days. It stores to good ones and discharges bad feelings by resolving them with unpleasant dreams. The soft bed cements our memories and stores facts that only our REMs can see. Sleep keeps us alive, gives us dreams that keep us going. A little like fuel from an astral level.

And we all need sleep, not too much but not to little either. Seven hours should suffice. I read that the sloth sleeps for 9.5 hours a day while dolphins and whales can stay awake for their first month.

Have a feel-good routine before you sleep. Don’t drink too much, or eat. Make sure you wind down. Read a book, flip through a magazine (no, not Play… or…) or even a photo album of your good times. Don’t read the newspaper, or watch the news. The stories will stay with you all night and your sleep won’t be smooth. What you want are seven silver hours of sleep. Think, hot chocolate, marshmallows, a cool glass of water, a hot water bottle, a teddy perhaps, someone to cuddle up with, and good feelings. Relax, breath deeply and rest. And the most important thing of all. Don’t forget to dream…

sssshhhhhhhhhhhh...
Goodnight…

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