Seventh Core Element of Health

"And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made." "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy." The seventh core element of health is rest.

Sleep is what most people think of in relation to this term, however, there are many forms of rest including sleep. Wholesome recreation is a very good way to rest from our labors. Fasting is a healthy way to rest our digestive system. Sleep is a great way to rejuvenate our bodies. Having a day of rest to focus on spiritual things and worshiping God is one of the best, most effective forms of rest. And as we are all mortal, one day all of our spirits will have a time of rest from our physical bodies. Rest does not mean doing nothing or wasting our time. When we are fasting or sleeping our bodies are using energy to improve the body. We need to be careful not to waste our time in the name of rest and relaxation, wasting time is not healthy.

The hours that we choose to sleep, when and how long, the type of bed and pillow that we sleep on, as well as the environment that we sleep in, will have a positive or negative effect on our health. Most sleep disorders are caused by an imbalance in one or several of the other core elements of health. How much we dream can be an indicator of the quality of our sleep. And if we can wake up without a trigger, like an alarm, and feel refreshed then we know that our sleep will have a positive effect on our health. Some of the many effects of quality sleep are improved mental awareness and retention, improved metabolism, improved immune function and mood, and the list goes on.

There are many forms of fasting the most basic is going without food and water for a short period of time, such as for up to two meals or 24 hours. Going without water for longer than that is not recommended. Going without food, but with water only, is extremely effective to the body, and depending on experience can be rather lengthy, a few days to a few weeks. Other types of fasts, like juice-only fasts, are often called cleanses. The need for doctor supervision during a fast will depend on the person's experience fasting, as well as the duration and type of fast.

During a fast the body is able to divert most of the energy which is normally used to digest and instead focuses it on cleaning up the body. Waste is removed and metabolic function is able to improve its efficiency throughout the body. The need for doctor supervision will depend largely on the condition of the body. The amount of waste that exists in the body will determine if a person will experience side effects, and how much. If a person's body is cleansing too fast they will experience undesirable side effects. However, once the body is cleansed the positive benefits usually far outweigh any of the negative feelings during a fast. Some of the benefits include, increased energy and less fatigue, improved digestion and a cleaner digestive tract, allergies are reduced or eliminated, improved weight control (up or down), and many more.

Having a day to focus on spiritual things, including prayer and worship, can do more for a person's health than focusing on all of the other elements combined. It helps people to focus on the why of their life. It helps to redirect one's energy from the daily mundane things of life to the things that matter most. Like fasting it helps redirect one's energy to clean up things that need to be cleaned up. There is so much that we do not understand about what can actually make us happy that we need to apply to a higher power to uplift us and enable us to live in such a way that we can be happy even when life is difficult.

Nothing can compensate for being happy while we are in pain, being happy when life is hard and learning to understand the reasons for the difficulties that we will have and have had. We will be comforted to know, not just believe, that our spirit lives on after we die and that we will be able to have our body back and be immortal someday. And to know that the people we love, and the relationships that we have will carry on after mortality is over.