It seems eveyone in the household is sleep deprive here this last week , Why ? Stress, Exams i just don't know seems to be adult and kids alike, two couldn't get up for schoool and are in bed zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz so i decided to let them sleep it off for the morning and catch up on the sleep they need! Now sleep is very imprtant for various reason here are some:Six reasons not to scrimp on sleep, from Harvard Women’s Health Watch
BOSTON—A recent survey found that more people are sleeping less than six hours a night, and sleep difficulties visit 75% of us at least a few nights per week. A short-lived bout of insomnia is generally nothing to worry about. The bigger concern is chronic sleep loss, which can contribute to health problems such as weight gain, high blood pressure, and a decrease in the immune system’s power, reports the Harvard Women’s Health Watch.
While more research is needed to explore the links between chronic sleep loss and health, it’s safe to say that sleep is too important to shortchange.
The Harvard Women’s Health Watch suggests six reasons to get enough sleep:
Learning and memory: Sleep helps the brain commit new information to memory through a process called memory consolidation. In studies, people who’d slept after learning a task did better on tests later.
Metabolism and weight: Chronic sleep deprivation may cause weight gain by affecting the way our bodies process and store carbohydrates, and by altering levels of hormones that affect our appetite.
Safety: Sleep debt contributes to a greater tendency to fall asleep during the daytime. These lapses may cause falls and mistakes such as medical errors, air traffic mishaps, and road accidents.
Mood: Sleep loss may result in irritability, impatience, inability to concentrate, and moodiness. Too little sleep can also leave you too tired to do the things you like to do.
Cardiovascular health: Serious sleep disorders have been linked to hypertension, increased stress hormone levels, and irregular heartbeat.
Disease: Sleep deprivation alters immune function, including the activity of the body’s killer cells. Keeping up with sleep may also help fight cancer.
What does Islam say about the importance of sleep?
sura nabaa(the great news)no. 78 (verses 6-16)
6. "have we not made the earth as a (wide) expanse?"7. "and the mountains as pegs"8. "and we created you in pairs,"9. "and we made your sleep for repose,"10. "and we made the night as a covering"11. "and we made the day for (seeking) livelihood,"12. "and we built above you seven firmaments"13. "and we made (therein) a blazing lamp,"14. "and we sent down from the clouds water in abundance"15. "that we may bring forth thereby grain and plants,"16. "and gardens of luxurious growth?"
thus, the term "subat" narrowly refers to the stopping of most of man's physical and mental activities when he sleeps. the very temporary stopping of activity causes refreshment and improvement for the tired organs, strengthening the soul and the body, renewing one's pleasure, removing any fatigue and uneasiness, and consequently, making man ready to start working again.though one-third of the human beings' lifetime is occupied by sleep and they have always been entangled with the question of `dreams', still they wonder about the mysteries of sleep. even yet, it is not exactly known why that at a special moment the mind fails to work well, the eyelids droop and all the limbs come to a peaceful state. but, one thing is definitely known and that is: sleep is of great importance to one's health, and that is why psychiatrists try to make their patients' sleep normally and regularly, because it is impossible to cure them without it.those who do not sleep enough are pale, withered, nervous, and dull. on the contrary, those who sleep normally, when they rise they feel, in themselves, much pleasure and vitality. after a tranquil sleep, study progresses very quickly and mental activity and physical endeavors are often more successful. these facts show the important functional role of sleep in man's life. there are few tortures, for a person, that are as painful as compulsory sleeplessness. experiments have shown that man's tolerance for lack of sleep is very little and soon he loses his health and becomes sick. the aforementioned statements about the importance of sleep mean, of course., a balanced sleep, because, over sleeping, like gluttony, is one of the graceless behaviors which causes various sicknesses. it is interesting that there is not a certain time limit for the natural length of sleep in all persons, but everyone should find the amount of sleep that one needs regarding his physical and mental activities and according to one's own experience. and stranger still is when human beings are placed in a difficult situation where they must stay awake for a long time. their perseverance for sleeplessness increases, temporarily, so that sometimes they decrease their sleep to one or two hours, but it has often happened that when the circumstances have changed, man, both spiritually and bodily, has demanded the recompense of that sleeplessness and has taken it back. there are, of course, a few rare individuals who are able to go without continuous sleep, for months at a time. in contrast, there are some people who fall asleep even when they are walking on the street or when they are speaking with another person. surely, this state is very dangerous for them, especially if there would be no one to look after them. obviously, these kinds of people are sick and sooner or later they will be faced with physical and spiritual difficulties. in short, this wonderful characteristic, which appears in man and is called `sleep', contains many mysteries and is perceived as a 'miracle''. although the above mentioned verse is about `sleep', as a divine blessing, it seems that death, and wakefulness could, also, symbolize resurrection, so the verse could be a hint to both of them. then, again, concerning sleep, it speaks about the blessing of`night' and says: "and we made the night as a covering". following immediately after that, it says: "and we made the day for (seeking) livelihood". contrary to the duelists (because of being uninformed about the secrets of creation, where they thought that the light of day is good and the darkness of night is evil and they believed in a separate god, for both of them, while thinking that the former originated from `god' and the latter from satan) we should give a bit more thought to it, then we will recognize that both of them are great blessings and are the origin of other blessings, as well. according to the above verses, the gloom of night is a cloth and covering over the body of the earth and over all living creatures residing on it. night, compulsorily, stops the exhausting activities of the life and makes the gloom of darkness, which is actually peace, calmness, and tranquillity, dominate over everything in order to give the tired limbs a chance to recover and the gloomy spirit a chance to revive, since a good and quiet sleep is more likely to be obtained in the dark. besides this, when night comes, the sunshine disappears. if the sun were to shine continuously, all plants and animals would die from its heat, and the earth could not be a dwelling place for them. for the same reason, the holy qur'an has frequently emphasized on this matter. once, it says: "say, see you? if allah were to make the day perpetual over you to the day of judgment, what god is there other than allah who can give you a night in which you can rest?..." (sura qasas, no. 28, verse 72). and after that it adds: "it is out of his mercy that he has made for you night and day, that you may rest therein, and that you may seek of his grace...", (sura qasas no 28, verse 73).
