Your Human Body
May 10, 2011 (Tuesday)
All of us know what “sleep” is. We get sleepy, and, if it’s “bedtime,” we lie down and go to sleep. If we resist the urge to sleep, however, and intentionally remain awake, eventually sleep will overtake us anyway. If we do not go to sleep voluntarily, we are forced by our own bodies to do it involuntarily.
What is sleep? Studies on this subject are taking place all over the world, and we are learning more every day about the nature of the phenomenon.
Scientists have discovered that there are different levels of sleep, and have suggested various names for those states. There is a level of sleep in which we experience virtual paralysis of our muscles, but at the same time hyperactivity of our brains. One thing we know for sure: sleep is absolutely essential to our well-being.
The Psalmist prayed, “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 39:14). Much is happening within our physical bodies all the time, and these highly complex functions take place whether or not we are aware of them or understand them.
Years ago I worked in an automobile factory that had several departments in which cars were built stage by stage. The methods are different today but the basic idea is still the same: there are several separate systems, working together, that you call your car. The same is true in the human body. There is the digestive system, the respiratory and circulatory systems, the musculo-skeletal systems, the nervous system and others. (I’m just talking as a layman here–don’t hold me accountable for accuracy). Although my body is made up of several systems, I am one person. So are you.
We can all say with the Psalmist, “I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” Thank you, Lord.
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(Explore human anatomy by clicking here).