Spreading the Gospel? Remember to Be Healthy! Dec. 2013 | Page 7

a Day in the Life of

Carmela the Missionary

Carmela is a young missionary in training. She does not get much sleep because she still has work to do from her training. She trains with other young people so during her training she is distracted by the new friends she is getting to know. She just wants to hang out with her friends so much that she does not get enough sleep, neither do her friends. Carmela knows she should get sleep, but it is just too exciting to be in discipleship training at DTS with people her age!

This is what can happen if Carmela continues to not get enough sleep.

A girl wakes up. Where is Carmela? I only see Miss Cranky Pants.

Carmela is cranky because she did not get enough sleep. She has to go to discipleship training this morning so she had to wake up early. All she wants to do right now is to go back to sleep, but she knows she has to do discipleship training. She gets ready for training and gets cranky about every little thing. “I can’t open the tooth paste cap!” “Ugh! My socks don’t match!” … Sleep affected her emotional health.

Carmela goes to training and immediately goes to her desk to put her head down. The teacher is talking but she cannot stay awake.

Carmela did not get enough sleep so she is really tired now. She cannot keep her eyes open. She feels sleepy during different times of the day. She still has to go through training, but does not have enough energy to actively participate. She was not quite enthusiastic today. All Carmela wanted to do is sleep. She had to give a talk on a Biblical principle today, but she did not remember her points. Getting enough sleep would have helped Carmela’s memory. When we sleep our brain is learning. Sleep affected Carmela’s mental health by making her not being able to concentrate and keep up with what was going on.

Carmela is still in class and her teacher has turned the air conditioner to a cooler temperature. Carmela feels cold, but she forgot to bring her jacket. She starts sneezing and sniffling.

Carmela’s immune system is affected by her lack of sleep. If she had had enough sleep, her immune system would be stronger and not be so sensitive to just a change in temperature. Sleep helps her body recharge her immune system. It helps prepare her body for the next day of battling germs. Sleep affected her physical health.

“Training is finally over! I can go back to sleep!” Carmela thought. Carmela’s friends invited Carmela to go hang out with them. Carmela does not feel like hanging out with friends today. She feels not only tired, but a bit “antisocial” .

Carmela did not get enough sleep and as a result was not really social today. She did not feel like talking to any one. She only talked when her friends started the conversation. She did not start conversations today. Carmela was reactive to what was going on, not proactive. Her friends kept trying to talk to her, but cranky Carmela didn’t want to talk to them. When Carmela got home, she realized she should’ve hung out with her friends; maybe it’ll make her less sleepy by getting her mind moving. Now she is home alone and lonely. Sleep affected Carmela’s social health.

Because Carmela did not get enough sleep, she encountered many problems today. She was cranky, always tired and couldn’t concentrate. Her body was weak, and she was not as social today. Not getting enough sleep affected her. She still had work to do and wanted to get to know her friends more. She stayed up doing work and socializing with her friends, but after a while, that backfired. She was not able to accomplish both. She needed sleep.

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