Nun’s Advice on Sleep
Monk Mindset for Living Well
Monk Mindset 4
Refresh without Indulging: Personal Wellness
Reflection on the Monk Mindset & Quote
When I was in the monastery, the schedule each day was remarkably similar – including when I’d go to bed and wake up.
In fact, my body got so accustomed to the sleeping and rising time that I’d literally wake up a minute or two before my alarm would go off at 5:25am. Crazy my body learned the exact minute to wake up.
St. Teresa of Avila, the 16th century nun and mystic who reformed the Carmelite order to return it to a deeper practice of prayer and penance had a surprising approach to sleep.
At the time, all other monastic communities would wake in the middle of the night to pray and then try to return back to sleep. It was a way to keep vigil and pray for the needs of the world at all hours. But also a form of penance – after all, who wants to get up in the middle of the night?
But St. Teresa recognized that the key to the sisters' spiritual health and growth was their charity toward each other in the midst of the monastic community - usually 15-20 sisters who lived together day in and day out.
She knew that if they didn’t get a full night’s sleep they’d struggle even more in kindnesses, patience, and charity with each other.
So, she did a radical thing for the time and changed the “Midnight Office” of praying in the middle of the night, transferring this prayer time to during the evening so the sisters could get 6-7 hours of sleep. It was enough sleep to function but probably not quite as much as they would have normally liked.
This is a great model for us – as science catches up with the monastic rhythm and recognizes the value of sleep – we should aim for getting enough sleep to function well but maybe not quite as much as you’d like so you’re pushed just a bit.
Put It Into Practice This Week
If you don’t already have a consistent bed time – try this week to set a specific time for bed and rising.
Have a wind down routine that helps you to slow down before falling asleep.
If your relationship with your phone is keeping you awake, try putting your phone in another room or get an old school alarm clock instead of your phone alarm.
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