Psalms 127:2 It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.
This passage of scripture teaches us that it is not good, nor even recommended that we stay up late and thereby lose critically important sleep that our bodies need for rest and repair. The habit of staying up late at night when it can be avoided, is productive of many evils and it takes a toll on our bodies which not even time may be able to erase. Our bodies are the temple of The Holy Ghost, and as such should be kept in as optimum condition as is humanly possible.
Going to bed late at night, after a full day of work, forestalls the repair process that is needed for damaged tissues, and this repair usually takes place during the first three hours of uninterrupted sleep. In men who work during the daytime, the hours of 9pm to 1am are very important for it is usually during these hours that the male hormone testosterone is released for healing and reproductive purposes, and therefore when we lose these hours of rest we will find ourselves with reduced libido. This hormone also signals to the body to make new blood cells, and therefore a lack of sufficient rest during these crucial hours results in a compromised level of health.
Another negative side effect of keeping late hours is that the body is greatly hindered in its efforts to shed pounds in those who desire to lose weight. As a matter of fact, recent studies have shown that a good night's rest is far more important to weight loss than many people realize, and therefore the efforts that are usually made at the gym and in dieting, often go to waste on account of a lack of sufficient rest.
One recent study reported in the New York times showed that depriving a person of one night's sleep resulted in a major change in attitude to the ingestion of junk foods and fatty delicacies, while at the same time the frontal cortex of the brain which governs rational judgment and decision-making, was significantly slowed in its activity and usefulness. As a matter of fact in all of the larger studies of different populations, those who slept less ate more than those who had a good night's rest.
There is a direct link between the health of our bodies and our spiritual health, and therefore we cannot ill-treat the one without great harm being done to the other. When we lose sleep or keep late hours we are more likely to be cranky and short-tempered the following day, and it is because of this close relationship between the physical and the spiritual, why the following text was written with the intent that sound balance may be brought into the equation of our daily experience. Let's read:
3rd John 1:2 Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.
Let us therefore put in place the needed reforms and changes by the grace of God so that we can strike a good balance the three aspects of our existence. We therefore end with a passage of scripture that promises us sweet sleep if we are willing to cooperate with God. Let's read:
Proverbs 3:24 When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet.
May God add His blessing to the study and practice of His word. "Good night" and God bless!