Sleep is popular. People like to sleep. People like to get good sleep. Articles list dozens of ways to sleep deeper, longer, and more efficiently. In the productive age, we want our sleep to be as productive as our working hours. We need sleep to give us energy, leave us well-rested, and prepare us for another productive day. Northwestern University recently looked into sleeping in order to create new treatment options for common sleep problems. Their findings reveal that the state of mind we are in before we go to sleep can have a great affect on our sleep. Advice on getting better sleep often includes sentiments like praying, meditating, creating a gratitude list, not going to sleep angry, or setting intentions. This particular study looked beyond all of that to a greater idea: purpose. Over the course of a year, Collective Evolution reports, the study asked more than 800 adults between 60 and 100 years old questions about sleep and life philosophy. In addition to measuring sleep metrics like consistency, falling asleep, and energy, researchers asked the participants about how they feel about their past, their hopes for the future, and their feeling of purpose. Participants who measured at high levels of feeling like their lives had meaning had better sleep quality overall compared to other participants. Creating purpose and meaning is essential in recovery from drug and alcohol addiction. Addiction becomes all of the meaning and purpose in one’s life, no matter what else they have going for them in their active addiction. Taking over all of the conversations about pleasure and reward chemically occurring in the brain, addiction becomes the reason the brain and body continues to function. Purpose is inherent in recovery. The purpose of every single man in recovery is to stand as a testament that recovery is possible. Men are able to rest easier at night knowing that their addiction is behind them and they are serving a greater meaning in their life as a man of recovery.
Oceanfront Recovery is a men’s addiction treatment facility offering residential programs for detox, inpatient, and intensive outpatient programs. Our focused approach to recovery helps men & women learn how to change the story of their lives and thereby change their lives for the better. For information on our Orange County treatment center, call us today: 877.279.1777
