How many hours of sleep is necessary in the opinion of the Torah?


Meets Rabbi Jacob Schub


It is no secret that different people need different amounts of sleep. And the treatment of sleep is not at all the same. Some see a dream, as an opportunity to escape from the objective reality, others see him the greatest pleasure, but there are those for whom the dream - is forced evil. And what is the attitude of the Torah to sleep?

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To begin, it should be noted that God in His infinite wisdom has given various natural human desires. When a person is tormented by hunger and thirst, it is necessary to satisfy them. Due to various hormonal processes occurring in the body, he has a desire for the opposite sex. And when he feels tired, he has the desire to lie down and sleep. It is clear that these desires can not be "cancel". Accordingly, in this case the problem is not in themselves desires (needs), and in that, "when they should be considered satisfied".


The Talmud (Nedarim 15a) says about the man swore that he would not sleep for three days. What if the person has given such an oath? It is believed that the oath is false, the person shall be punished for giving false oath and can sleep, because such an oath to nothing obliges. It is impossible not to sleep for three days, it does not depend on us.


It makes no sense to deny the enormous importance of sleep in our lives, it is essential for the normal functioning of the body. Sleep allows you to relax and relieve stress, both physical and emotional.


Nevertheless, it is impossible to consider the dream as an end in itself. It should be a means - Energize for further fruitful work. If a person boring life, he was more attracted to sleep. The same whose life is filled with meaning, who strive to achieve, to work on themselves, reluctant to go to bed. A striking example of this are the children: in the evening they can not be put to sleep, and early in the morning they are back on their feet: "Another day ... new adventures ... so many new things to be found, and experience! Get me out of bed! "


So how much did you need to sleep? The answer is quite simple - enough! It is necessary to ensure that the dream was a member of the rhythm of our life, not a life built around a dream. Need to experiment to find out how much sleep we need to function properly, so that lack of sleep has no effect on health. Rambam (Ilhot Deot 4: 4) writes that the maximum duration of sleep for a healthy person - 8 hours. But you can do less. It is a pity to spend a third of life in bed.


Gaon of Vilnius, the greatest Jewish sage, was sleeping 4 times a day for 30 minutes, a total of two hours. In many yeshivot accepted to arrange so-called Mishmar - do not sleep through the night or the night from Thursday to Friday. Lack of sleep, in a pinch, you can make up for Saturday. The Mishnah (Avot) said that one of the ways of "acquisition" of the Torah - the minimization of sleep.


Although, in principle, any person who wants to achieve something in life, trying to optimize your sleep time. Napoleon slept only four hours a day. He attributed this to the fact that every moment of wakefulness can bask in the glory, but when sleeping, lose this unique opportunity.


Recall the last time we were up till the morning, trying to make out an interesting question alahichesky, preparing for the exam at the university, reading an interesting book, dancing in the disco, publishing stupidity on Facebook (underline). When a person is captured by something, he easily got its second wind and costs less sleep.


You can train yourself to sleep less. One has only to imagine what can be achieved, for example, for the "saved" per hour. How many important things to do, how many people to help, how much new can understand and learn during this time. When a person's life is full of meaning, you need to go to bed only to wake up soon and continue their journey.


Sincerely, Jacob Schub

by toldot.ru