Sleeping While You're Awake

Mark 14:37 – Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Simon,” he said to Peter, “are you asleep? Couldn’t you keep watch for one hour?”

There are times, when you suffer from chronic pain, that you catch yourself falling asleep even when it’s time for you to be awake:
 

• You’re at a business meeting which is so boring that you have to fight to keep your eyes open.

 

• You’re at church and you catch yourself dozing off during a message that is worth staying awake to listen to, but you still jerk your head as you try to stay awake.

 

• You’re waiting to see your doctor and you close your eyes for a moment and then catch yourself needing to pop your eyes open as they’re closing.

 

• You’re watching TV and though the program is riveting, you still find when you open your eyes, that you’ve missed half of the show you were watching.

 

• Then the worst of all – You find yourself yawning out loud when a friend is trying to describe a serious situation that your friend needs your help with.

 
Many of these cases can cause hurt and pain if it’s a person or meeting you’re listening to. Find some tips on how to avoid falling asleep when you need to be awake. On webmd.com in their article, “How to Stay Awake Naturally,” discusses ways to help you not fall asleep such as get up and move around to feel awake, take a nap to take the edge off sleepiness and give your eyes a break to avoid fatigue.
 
Making sure you get a good night’s sleep is also important. I know that when I’ve had a restless sleep it can be difficult to keep my eyes open the next day. Take a look at the Bible verse above, Jesus had gone a little away to pray and when he returned, he found the disciples had fallen asleep. Even they battled trying to stay awake when Jesus was about to be arrested. As you’re praying, you might find yourself falling asleep. It’s times like these when you need to fight sleep to stay awake.

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