Matt Rehrer. When Sleep Won’t Come: Help and Hope for Body and Soul
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Matt Rehrer. When Sleep Won’t Come: Help and Hope for Body and Soul
Matt Rehrer
Matt Rehrer is an emergency room physician at Permanente Medicine in Oakland, CA.
He earned his MD at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, TX and did his residency at Alameda Health System, a public health care system in Oakland, CA.
He is also an Executive Pastor at NorthCreek Church in Walnut Creek, CA. In that role he is a member of the elder board and oversees the ministerial staff of the church.
Matt Rehrer’s page on the church’s website
NorthCreek Church is the home of the Northern California campus of The Master’s Seminary a ministry by John MacArthur.
When Sleep Won’t Come: Help and Hope for Body and Soul
Chapter 1. What Is Sleep?
“The Design of Sleep. page 12
Sleep reflects the orderliness of our Creator.
From the very beginning, “God separated the light from the darkness” (Genesis 1:4). With his words, God created a predictable pattern of morning and evening that put into place the architecture for sleep.”
“Circadian rhythm. 12-13
The circadian rhythm is a good place to start to better understand the pattern God designed. Circadian rhythm fine-tunes many metabolic processes to fit into a twenty-four-hour cycle. Your “internal clock” regulates different body changes. The circadian rhythm influences sleep-wake cycles, driven by light, the first thing God spoke into existence. With evening and morning, light closely associates with time. How does light regulate”
“The Stages of Sleep. 17
God loves order. Rhythms and patterns mark his design. The circadian rhythm is a twenty-four-hour cycle, but it is not the only cycle involved in sleep. Each night you sleep, your body moves through sleep cycles comprised of three non-rapid eye movement (NREM) stages and one stage of rapid eye movement (REM). These cycles last between 90 and 120 minutes. In eight hours of sleep, you proceed through four to five cycles. Each of these cycles contains a flip-flop back and forth between NREM and REM, but the ratio of NREM to REM shifts from the beginning to the end of the night. At the onset of sleep, NREM dominates the wrestling match. By the last cycle with dawn approaching, REM takes control of the match and flexes its muscles. This asymmetry in sleep does have implications. If your sleep is cut short, a disproportionate amount of REM sleep is lost. You might wonder why sleep is designed this way. Is this a flaw? Would it not be better to have uniform cycles throughout the night? Many theories exist as to why sleep cycles do not look the same throughout the night, but no one knows for sure. Perhaps this mystery further reinforces our dependence on God, not just for a short night of sleep but a full one.”
Chapter 2. Why Do We Sleep?
Chapter 3. Blessings of Sleep
Sleep Enhances Cognitive Learning. 33
Sleep Improves Motor Skills. 35
Sleep Clears Metabolic Waste. 36
Sleep Boosts Immunity. 36
Sleep Balances Weight. 37
Sleep Reduces Diabetes Risk. 38
Sleep Improves Heart Health. 38
Sleep Restores Physical Well-Being. 39
Chapter 4. Effects of Insufficient Sleep
Chapter 5. Medical Factors in Sleeplessness
Chapter 6. Environmental Factors in Sleeplessness
Chapter 7. Spiritual Factors in Sleeplessness
Chapter 8. Wise Ways to Pursue Better Sleep
Chapter 9. Resting When We Cannot Sleep
Chapter 10. How to Live the Next Day Exhausted
My Recommendation
This is an important book.
It builds a biblical and systematic theology of sleep.
Along with clear expositions of relevant biblical passages he gives examples from his medical practice and counseling ministry.
On a personal note- I use a CPAP machine as part of my treatment for Sleep Apnea and can identify with many of his recommendations.
Highly recommended.
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