I posted a poll last week to get a little background on the sleeping habits of youth workers. I wasn’t surprised to see that as of this writing, only 21% of youth workers who participated got 8 or more hours of sleep on a typical night. What’s the deal?

For some reason, people who sleep more seem to get a bad rep – that the need for sleep somehow makes you weak. And while I seem to be able to get by with a little less sleep then normal (I average 6-7 hours a night), there’s some great benefits to a youth worker getting some serious rest. Here’s a few reasons you should skip late night television and sleep in late “accidentally” once a month:

Sleep gives you a chance to clear your head - make that big decision in the morning! If there’s any way possible to make a call the next day instead of under pressure when you’re fried at the end of the day – move it to morning. A good night’s rest often has a clearing effect – plan your most important meetings first thing.

Sleep gives you a chance to cool off - if there’s tension in a relationship or an urge to respond to an email that triggers you, save it to drafts and wait until morning. You’ll be more likely to respond in a Christ-like way after a good night’s rest. Rarely will you regret a slightly delayed decision, too often the next morning you’ll regret the decision made the night before. Don’t respond and regret. There’s a reason the phrase “sleep on it” has survived even in our fast-paced society.

Sleep encourages balance in your life – we were made to need rest. You can’t escape it! Try as we might, a lack of sleep will eventually catch up with you. Focus on balance in your schedule with adequate time for tasks, relationships and rest.

Go to sleep!

JG