Sleep and Caring for My Body

I have been thinking a lot lately about how important it is to take care of my physical body.  It seems I all too often postpone or shortchange myself when it comes to exercise and rest.

Here are a couple of ideas that helped me today (from the Church manual, "The Gospel and the Productive Life."

First: Get to bed early . . . get up early. 

“Some of you are not getting the rest that you need. Some are habituated to going to bed late and sleeping much longer than your system really needs and thus missing out on some of the personal inspiration you could be receiving.

“Adequately rested, there is great value that can come to you as an early riser. Years ago, Barbara and I were asked to drive President and Sister Marion G. Romney from Provo to their home in Salt Lake City. Along the way, President Romney shared some of his personal experiences when he was first called to serve as a General Authority way back in 1941. He had been serving as a stake president at the time and had gone to General Conference where he was called, without prior knowledge, to be a General Authority. He was shocked and very nervous. He felt that he needed some advice, and so he went to Elder Harold B. Lee, a new member of the Quorum of the Twelve and former associate as a stake president. He asked him for advice about how to be successful as a general authority.
“Elder Lee said:

“‘If you are to be successful as a General Authority, I will give you one piece of advice: Go to bed early and get up early. If you do, your body and mind will become rested and then in the quiet of those early morning hours, you will receive more flashes of inspiration and insight than at any other time of the day.’

“President Romney said,

“‘From that day on, I put that counsel into practice, and I know it works. Whenever I have a serious problem, or some assignment of a creative nature with which I hope to receive the influence of the Spirit, I always receive more assistance in the early morning hours than at any other time of the day. Following that counsel has helped me a great deal through the years.’ (See: Joe J. Christensen, To Grow in Spirit [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1983], pp. 27–28).

“You can have a similar experience in your own life. You can change, even if you consider yourself a ‘night person.’ Set the habit in 21 days. When it comes right down to it, it is a matter of strong resolve and ‘mind over mattress.’” ( Resolutions [CES fireside for college-age young adults, Jan. 9, 1994], 5).

Second: Make sure I don't "run myself ragged" during the day.

Patricia T. Holland, formerly a counselor in the Young Women general presidency:


“Anyone who reads a newspaper or magazine is constantly reminded that proper diet, appropriate exercise, and plenty of rest increase our daily capacities as well as our life span. But all too many of us put off even these minimal efforts, thinking our family, our neighbors, and our other many responsibilities come first. Yet in doing so, we put at risk the thing these people need most from us: our healthiest, happiest, heartiest self. . . .

“The issue for me then, is accepting that we are worth the time and effort it takes to achieve the full measure of our creation, and believing that it is not selfish, wrong, or evil. It is, in fact, essential to our spiritual development.

“My oldest child tried to teach me this principle years ago. I had not been feeling well on a day I had promised to take this then three-year-old son to the zoo. As my aches and pains increased, I finally said in exasperation, ‘Matthew, I don’t know if we should go to the zoo and take care of you or if we should stay home and take care of mother.’ He looked up at me for a moment with his big brown eyes and then stated emphatically, ‘Mama, I think you should take care of you , so you can take care of me.’ He was wise enough even at that age to know where his best interests were ultimately served. Unless we take care of ourselves, it’s virtually impossible to properly take care of others” (“The Many Faces of Eve,” in Jeffrey R. Holland and Patricia T. Holland, On Earth As It Is in Heaven [1989], 66–67).


I am going to make it a point to get to bed earlier each night (by 10), and then I would like to get up early each morning (by 4:30) so I can have time to work and think before my children wake up at 6:00.  I think that's the only way I'll be able to accomplish the tasks that need me, while still taking care of myself and my family.  Of course, I'll still take a nap each day :)