Asleep for One-third of your Life

This post was actually triggered when I realized how old I was getting. I tried to imagine what I did in the past 54 years I have been on earth. From 0 to probably 10 or 12, most of what I did was play, go to school starting at age 5, eat and sleep. From 13 to 20, engaged in many sports, learn to drive and drive starting at age 16, eat and sleep. Then age 20 and onwards, still play some sports, work, drink, smoke, go on dates, sex, get married at age 28, have four children, eat and sleep. That's what I've been doing for twenty four (24) hours a day for the past years.

Then I remembered a TV ad about beds. The commercial said, while the bed was on screen, "this is where you spend one-third (1/3) of your life"! Now, is that not true? A good sleep usually is for eight (8) hours, especially for children and the young. More than that for babies and toddlers. Maybe an average of six (6) hours when we get older. So overall, I might have really slept an average of 8 hours a day! Here comes the amazing part. I will be 54 years old next month. Divide 54 by 3 we come up with 18. That's one-third of my life, 18 years! It's hard to believe that I have been sleeping for an aggregate total of 18 years!

Quite sure of this, you'll be calculating how many years you have slept after reading this. Now don't be regretful that you have slept for so many years. Also, don't try cutting down down on sleep. We need those sleeping hours to be able to stay awake and do what we need to do. As a consolation, I may be old in age but honestly I still feel young. That's what sleeping for 18 years could have done for me.