Clean For Three Days

I'm no addict but I am, as the title suggests, three days clean. Some explanation is probably in order here. About five or six years ago, I mentioned to one of our teachers I couldn't sleep on my very long flights to Vietnam. He suggested taking melatonin as it was non-habit forming, inexpensive, over the counter, and my body was already producing it on some level. I used it on my trip; it didn't help during the flight but since I already had it, I continued to take it, even when I go back to the US. In fact, I used it non-stop until three nights ago. As I neared the bottom of my most recent bottle, I decided by giving up melatonin, I would save twenty dollars per year and it was having negligible affect on my body, at least as far as I could tell. My three days has proven, at least in a small sample, that I was right. I continue to fall immediately asleep without the help of the pill. And eventually, I will be twenty dollars richer!

My long term practice of using melatonin is probably symptomatic of any number of things I can think of. I brought it into my life and then found it easy to just let it stay. My guess is that its impact on most nights was negligible- I get up at four so falling asleep quickly is usually a given. It became a habit, although not a dangerous one, and it simply became part of my daily routine. Just like the Internet. And Facebook. And fill in the blank. Things creep up on us and without realizing it, take up residence. It's not they re bad per se but they leave less time for other things. Like prayer time. And meditation. And Bible study. And....... sleep? Back to the melatonin! It's a vicious cycle!

Applicable quote of the day:
"Sleep is simply a chemical change in our brain and body (melatonin). It's not a place we go, it's a state of being we fall into."
Bill Crawford, PH.D

God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1
www.hawleybooks.com
E-mail me at steve@hawleybooks.com